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Nunc Lento Cantu; Now a Slow Song (Music Adventure)
Topic Started: Jul 25 2015, 10:53 PM (671 Views)
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An Adventure in Music

This is an adventure in which myself, and Cassandra, will be completing our Music Challenge. It will involve a Djinn, some wishes gone wrong, and some very interesting uses of the Illogical Field. However, just because we're performing our challenge, doesn't mean other people can't get involved - in fact, we encourage that you do!

If you have a love of music, this adventure is for you.

Rules

There will be a magic that compels -everyone- to speak musically. That's not to say everything has to rhyme or be perfect. Just indicating your character's reaction to the sing-song nature of most conversation will do if you're not that into writing your own lyrics. However, if you want to break into an outright stage number, by all means, do so! We will be.

Once the first post is created with the prologue to the events, I will be posting once every 7 days to move along the story unless all participants respond faster than that, in which case I'll be moving as fast as we can manage. It is 1500 words in order to complete the challenge.

On the note of challenge, the link to the rules is above. If you wanna grab a partner and compete as well, feel free! At the end of each post will be the song used, and if available, a link to a youtube video with lyrics.

Finally, I will be doing the major environmental occurrences within the storyline. So feel free to interact with each other, and any props left around for you, and do your normal thing. Just expect a few surprises, twists, and jumps.

Note
Cassandra's posts will always be immediately after mine, due to the partner music challenge we're attempting. This has no chronological importance and others may post freely. It's purely to preserve the 'back and forth' nature of the challenge.

Our Theme
For our music challenge, all our posts will be themed from Metallica. As per the rules, no person may use the same song twice, though each person may use the same song once.

Conclusion
This will be an adventure. I can't promise any rewards unless you also complete the music challenge as part of the ordeal. Then again, what better reward, than to say your character has had their own musical episode? All the greats have one: Buffy, Scrubs, Dr. Horrible, House M.D., etc. So, next post shall be the prologue, as well as the start of the challenge.

UPDATE
If you are interested and have the time, feel free to join before this Wednesday. After Wednesday, entrance will be closed and the post will be updated as frequently as time allows. If for some reason writing in rhyme is difficult, or you don't feel you can quite get into the musical groove, just keep in mind its not required at all. You can just describe your character being sing-songy or the like.

So if you want to join, but just have some reservations, there really is no pressure. Updates on Wednesday.
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"There is a part of me that has always greatly loved physical labor, especially construction. To take raw, simple materials, and turn them into something complex and beautiful, is akin to playing God I would assume. That being said, I've had my hand in a bit of everything when it comes to crafting, from wood to leather, and from steel to alchemy. Through all of it, woodworking has always been my favorite."

After the discovery of a random boy running through the woods, that flask he shoved into Hren's hands, and the attached Djinn, crafting of his forest home went much more efficiently. While the darling magical girl wasn't exactly fit and firm for manual labor, she used her magic in rather unique, creative, and constructive ways, to ensure the expeditious finalization of the structure.

Many countless sunrises and sunsets later, the complex was near completion. Beautiful, polished wooden walls made a sight to behold amongst the backdrop of the forest. The flooring was dense stone, arriving thanks to Cassandra's effort, magical prowess, and of course generosity - generosity in that Hren refused to be called master by anyone, including a Djinn offering immortal servitude. Instead, he demanded friendship – thus was her generosity.

The roof was finished, sealed with natural waxes and clay. The landscape had been gently tended as well, the most bright, colorful, and vivid flowers from the forest nearby brought to form a front yard and garden. Some food-bearing plants had been gathered and transplanted as well, such as a small orchard in the back, with some basic fruits and vegetables centered in the garden-front.

Not even ten minutes had passed since the first light of dawn and Hren was already hard at work. Serosa was nearby singing a lively tune to get the blood flowing. In the days that had passed, Hren had already become quite dependent on Serosa's ability to sing; she truly had hypnotic power in those tones and words. The blind ranger's feet moved about the ground gracefully in a display of true freedom while he worked the last bits of lumber he would use for an inner wall. His hands moved in rhythm to the myriad of melodies that formed from the flame-embroiled Phoenix.

Despite the bright summer sun already making its way into the sky from the east, the early morning air carried a chill that sent tendrils of enjoyment through Hren. He had always been fond of the dualities of situations: Intentionally keeping a room cold just so you can cover yourself in blankets and extra clothing, cold winds and water on hot days, adding intense spice to sweets - the list was nigh infinite. This was just one of those mornings, he thought to himself wistfully.

"Serosa - would you sing me that song about the Beggar Prince again?"
Of all the songs in Serosa’s repertoire, this one had become Hren’s favorite, for it reminded him of many rulers in his land who would wager all they had on a single battle. They would tax their impoverished to the point of ruin, abuse their servants, and conscript their sick and injured, just to try and snatch that extra piece of land. The prince in the song had greatness, and lost it all on a silly gamble to gain more.

"I'm glad you've taken a liking to that song, Scarheart, it is my favorite as well." Without hesitation, she began the musical introduction to the requested song before starting with her lyrical representation of a bard's tale told throughout the land. Clearly, the morning had affected her as well. Normally, she would sing quiet to ensure only Hren’s ears would hear the inspirational ballad. Now, however, she just sang.

The forest filled with her trills, pitches, soft words, and mastery of musical tone and intonation as she took flight to form gentle circles around the establishment and its land. Her wings even pressed into the air with the beat, adding background noise to her melody while her tail moved up and down rhythmically. She sang so freely, that Cassandra, who had taken to the forest earlier to gather food and supplies, could hear the singing – readily identifying it as ‘the shy bird’ she had come to rather enjoy having around. A morning to remember for certain.

~Happiness is fleeting. I know this. Don't get too attached, Hren. After all, you're called Scarheart for a reason.~
The song drifted deep into the subconscious of the woodsman, images long past and nearly lost filling his mind again for the first time in a long while. Hren's solitude wasn't of choice. His life wasn't as simple as living 40 years and becoming a great hunter.

Specifically, his mind drifted to that dark-clad man who had no name. An obsidian face mask covered his features, making the mystique of his unknown origin that much more clear. His magic was powerful, and Hren could remember every detail of the excruciating pain that wracked his body in that confrontation. The battle was... long, and bloody. The end of a war? Most of it was a fog. But that final ordeal - that fight between two men - it would always be with him.

The dark-masked-man lie bleeding in his throne, a broken red chair covered with his own life-force. He clutched at the glaive wound in his abdomen. Dark magic swept through his flesh and clothing, shooting through the air, and forming a weave of glyphs and symbols, the entire chamber becoming as bleak as a cloudy night.
"So my death, you have it. Your death, however... you will never have it. You will know only misery. Do not let them close, Hren. Mark me."

Of course, this entire image was one created by Hren in the first place, how his mind's eye imagined it all from smells, sounds, and sensations. Whether or not it was accurate mattered little - the truth is, it still happened. Hren reminded himself how old he truly was.

Slowly, he forced his mind back to reality and down to the wood that was slightly over-sanded. It was just in time to hear the end of the symphony Serosa had been weaving. A smile came back to his face, knowing Serosa was looking upon him as the finality of the song's end neared.
"Always impressive, my darling."
She wasn't buying it, not one bit. "Where were you, Scarheart? I could see you looking off, even though your eyes are covered. I could feel you tensing. Was my music displeasing?"
"Not at all, Serosa, just old memories. Memories that I had not recalled in several ages. Your singing, as always, was perfect."

He shrugged off the entire ordeal, burying it back down into his darkest depths; darker than the blindness that plagued him. Hren had mastered the art of pushing down those sensations. It had taken him a great amount of time, but now it was second-nature. Having a goal and physical pain helped immensely. With that, it was time to finish this home once and for all, and he diligently went back to the laborious task of sanding, waxing, and decorating wood before fastening it in place.

Abruptly, the music stopped. Serosa quickly took roost on the roof of the nearby cabin, shutting up entirely. Hren heard it as well - footsteps a dozen or so yards out. He was hoping Serosa wouldn't have heard them as keenly as he did, but there went his music nonetheless. From the northern edge, Cassandra entered the clearing with an upturned cloth holding a nice-sized bushel of berries from the forest. She also carried a napsack over her back with some wax and honey, loose earth, and other necessities to finish the project.

"Well, the music was nice while it lasted. You might as well start singing around me, Serosa - I've already heard you now. Alllll the way back in the woods. Your cover is blown." Cassandra laughed as she approached Hren to drape an arm around his shoulders. "How has your morning been, Maaaaayyyy friend Scarheart?" She had not yet adapted to his desires to not be called master, but she would try regardless.

Hren flinched at the affection, still unaccustomed to contact after so many years. As he eased, he turned to face his new-found friend-Djinn.
"Almost finished, actually - doesn't it look amazing?"
Yeah, that was another one of the dualities Hren greatly enjoyed; talking about something's appearance even though he was blind, as though he could see it. In all honesty, it was only a duality to everyone else - he always painted a watercolor portrait of everything he observed, indifferent to the sense that delivered it to him.

Cassandra only paused briefly at the irony. "I've seen palaces that failed to maintain anything nearly as beautiful, Master Scarheart." It's okay, she could slip just this once, she was in 'awe' of the wooden home after all. She marveled at the soft wooden walls, worked to the point of actually having a slightly different color than the woods they came from. The small walkway of sporadically-cut stone leading to the front door was intricate and incredible as well.

"So how do you feel?" She paused looking at the grandeur of the clearing. Even she, a Djinn bound to an inanimate object, forced to serve the whim of insolent, ignorant men until the end of time, was feeling the freedom all around them. She couldn't help but ask if this feeling were exclusive to her, or something everyone shared.

"I feel free. Truly free. Just seems to need one more thing... perhaps if there were only some music."
Hren playfully verbally jabbed at the nearby companion of his, shyly hiding amongst the timbers of the roof. When she didn't respond, he spoke a little more loudly.
"I said - I wish there was a little music!

Then it Happened

The familiar jerking and twisting of magic from worlds unknown was upon them. The sky was down, the earth was up, the trees were blue, and the water was green. For that brief moment, the whole world simply 'changed' to the whim of a Djinn granting a wish she truly did not desire to.

Being blind, Hren could only listen as Serosa bolted from her rooftop roost to fly straight toward him, burrowing behind just in time for a bit of sawed lumber to come hurtling through the air and implant itself into Hren's right shoulder; rather, -through- Hren's right shoulder.

His tree-side house was gone, all but the walkway and front entrance, anyway. Instead, in the place of the garden, the building, and all the hard work, was a gigantic castle. That's right, a gigantic castle. From all reaches of the Weyr, all could see the enormous slate-grey monstrosity plummet from the sky to crunch into the canopy. On the ground, the vibrations of the impact could be felt for miles.

Hren hit the ground hard, clutching at his arm and trying to pull the wedge of wood from it, the blood soaking into his clothing thoroughly. He tried not to wince, but Serosa was there to assist, incinerating the wood so that it would be smaller and well-shaped to be pulled out harmlessly.

All the hard work had been undone by a single misspoken sentence; a single wish. As Hren slowly climbed to his feet to check on the safety of Cassandra and Serosa, he opened his mouth to speak:
"Is everyone okay, I can't tell what's going on, but it seems like something big has landed near, and my house is gone."

Cassandra and Serosa stared blankly as the words that spilled from Hren's mouth were... melodic? In a dramatic stage fashion, he had just sang those words, though none could be sure of whether or not he knew he had sang them.

"I'm not sure what's going on, but there's a castle on your house, nothing could have survived that fall, not even - a mouse." Serosa just began talking, but the music took hold. She too, did not realize she was singing. Cassandra however, was smart enough to put it all together. That blasted wish - and that blasted castle, were making everyone sing.

"Serosa, why are you singing, everything you say? I can't help but be saddened, by this castle ruining my day..."
Then it dawned on Hren as well. After the waterfall incident, and now hearing Serosa sing right next to Cassandra, it was the worst of news. He knew he couldn't carry a tune.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Song
King Nothing

(Winter's Chill Challenge: Bleak, 2091 words)
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Another brush. Granted, Cassandra had become a bit more used to the forest since her recent endeavors, but it was still a unique experience to be wandering around it by herself. The days that had passed brought an unusual amount of feelings to the Djinn that made her unnerved, honestly.. she wasn't the 'slave' that she was supposed to be. Hren had made it perfectly clear that he did not want her to call him 'Master', but habits die hard and she didn't entirely want to be out of that one. Eventually, Hren would lose his hold on the flask and she would have a new Master. One that would desire her to call him Master, My Lord, Majesty, or some other terminology that made the owner's ego swell. Owners came, they died, they moved on. It was a cycle that she had, for obvious reasons, grown tired of. Not that there was anything to be done about it. The only thing she had left was the entertainment of seeing the new locations that greeted her exit of the flask.

Cassandra picked the bright red berries that looked like they were constantly oozing a thick, near gel-like liquid. For several long moments, she stared at the berries in her hand, not seeming to comprehend what they were. Hren had described the snack before she'd left when she bashfully admitted that she knew little about food. Not many people feed a creature that doesn't need food to survive. She really couldn't even remember what food tasted like.. if she'd ever actually eaten any Before. That was the term she used when thinking of what her life had been like prior to being a Djinn; she guessed that she had been normal, mortal even. Over the amount of time Cassandra had known Hren, she had disregarded the meals he had offered. Though she constantly received negative remarks from both him and Elsharaz, she refused to admit that it was daunting to eat when all you had imbibed was liquid to keep from being parched.

You're doing it again, Cass. The Djinn cringed a little bit at the name Elsharaz had picked up over the past week. He had deemed him equal to her, ergo: since she did not have to refer to Hren as 'Master', he needed a new name for her aside from 'Master'.

She dropped the berries into the bag with the others she'd found and shot the hellhound a glance out of the corner of her eye. "Doing what, pup?"

He sat, panting, and cocked his head to one side. Thinking.

This made her laugh quite a bit. "Yes, Elsharaz, I'm thinking. Why?" He straightened and looked back the way they had come. Music. I think the birdie is singing.

Quieting her own thoughts, Cassandra could now hear the Phoenix quite well, her clear and angelic melody piercing through even the woodpecker (or whatever was making that sound - who knew in this forest..?) and its racket. Such a beautiful voice that she was hiding, Cassandra wished she could provoke the phoenix to sing more, but no one could blame her for the stage fright she had acquired. Granted, it was undeserved stage fright.

"Listen to that, Elsharaz. That's something that we won't hear for another couple days, if not longer. Maybe we can give her appropriate accolades."

Elsharaz gave her that look. You know, the one that said "That bird's never going to sing a note when anyone's around, so why even bother". Cassandra didn't need to read his mind to know him. Did you get any food for me this time?

Smiling and scratching Elsharaz's ear, Cassandra shook her head. "No, but I figured that maybe we could slip into the village after the great unveiling of the house. I know Master Scarheart is excited for it being complete and I thought that we could celebrate."

Are you not excited? Elsharaz's tone was filled with utter confusion.

"Yes. I'm... I'm excited."

Another blank stare. Right. And I'm a cat.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and pushed him lightly with her foot as she continued moving through the foliage, still listening to the delightful refrain in the air. "I don't know. It's not my home.. so am I excited for Master Scarheart? Yes. I love the work that we've put into this.. I don't think I've ever broken a sweat so many times. I can now say that I have used a hammer, even!" She laughed to herself a bit before the smile dropped and was replaced with a slightly forlorn gaze off into the green. "But it's not my home. I don't know what home is other than the flask, pup. Granted, it will be my homestead for a brief amount of time. He even made a room for me... that's something I never thought I would see."

It was a shocking imagery for the Djinn; someone caring enough to think of her when they make their home. It's not like she needed a bed or a bookshelf. She didn't have any spare clothing that needed a closet and she certainly kept no nic-knacks that took over storage space. No, a room of her own was... odd. Another unnerving factor about this new world that she knew she had to get over.

Well, I suppose until he loses your flask, you'll just have to tolerate companionship for a while. I know it's hard... Cassandra chuckled softly and straightened. "Let's head back. I want to catch Serosa in the act." Yes, it was a simple matter to try to disregard; Cassandra didn't like musing on details like that for too long. You don't attach yourself to anything - person, possession, or location - in a life like hers.

How can you get through life like that?

Glancing down at the hellhound, Cassandra hopped over a fallen log. "Like what?"

Elsharaz gave a faint head tip as he followed more at a lunging pace. No Friends. No things. No home. To that, Cassandra couldn't find the words for a brief moment. That wasn't something she'd ever tried to put into words. "If I have nothing to lose, then when I come across something new, it seems amazing to me. A new sight, a new wonder. That way, I'm not saddened by my existence.. I just roll with the punches, I think the phrase is."

An amount of silence followed as Elsharaz simply acknowledged her and pulled ahead to lead the way. He had already been on her mind.. whether she would have to give up this new wonderful friend of hers when she moved on. She was beginning to be rather attached to the ball of energy and callousness.

Breaking into the clearing, Cassandra spied the retreating Phoenix just in time to catch a minor glimpse of her tail. "Well, the music was nice while it lasted. You might as well start singing around me, Serosa - I've already heard you now. Alllll the way back in the woods. Your cover is blown." She grinned broadly and marveled at the house and then at her Master as she slid an arm around his shoulders for a partial hug - it was a bit of a stretch from her height, but she didn't want him too uncomfortable from her hands on any other part of him. "How has your day been Mas..-" Cassandra quickly cut herself off with that since Scarheart occasionally refused to respond when she let the 'M' word slip. "-my friend, Scarheart." She sighed inwardly.

When he asked about the house's beauty, the Djinn wanted to laugh a bit, but instead hushed the mocking voice of Elsharaz. ...says the blind man. Who's not even blind... the faux blind man... He quickly quieted in his murmuring at the look that Cassandra shot him.

"I've seen palaces that failed to maintain anything nearly as beautiful, Master Scarheart." She could let it slip occasionally. Maybe she would sway him to her side eventually.

As her eyes wandered over the landscape and the entirety of the house, she couldn't help but feel her melancholy mood lifted. It was something that she hadn't really expected to feel at the mere sight of the building, yet there it was. A sensation of... she paused, doubting herself and glancing cautiously to the man standing next to her. "So how do you feel?"

I feel happy and... well free here! Look! A bird bath! That wasn't there when we left! Elsharaz bounced happily off, chasing after the already flocking purple sparrows that were roosting.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and kept her gaze on the intended subject of her question. Before he even said it, she could see it in his stance. He felt the freedom, too. So this is what it was supposed to be.. Cassandra closed her eyes and tipped her head back, feeling the cool breeze cut through the crisp fall air. The season had already changed.. but then again, nothing seemed truly consistent around here.

'--wish there was a little music."

Cassandra paled. No. She didn't really hear that, did she? The magic pulsed around her and she knew it was too late. Damn her for not paying attention! The world spun and she knew what was coming. Well, not exactly what was coming, but she had been through this so many times before that she was not unsettled as the first couple of times. Sometimes the flood of magic could make a passerby sick.. it even made her sick whenever she granted her first world altering wish.

Dropping to a knee, Cassandra's eyes instantly searched her surroundings, however it took a blind man to not notice the 'newcomer' to the scene: a castle. Plummeting from the sky was a castle. Not desiring to take the time to pause and marvel at the unusual sight as tempting as that was, the Djinn dove quickly towards the treeline and spun on her heel. Rocketing towards the ground along with the enormous structure were a number of fragments - probably brought along for the ride with the initial casting of the wish.

Extending a hand upward, she knew that her Master's lack of sight was going to hinder him. Meters above Hren's head, unbeknownst to him, a fractured parapit hovered before it was shunted to one side. Cassandra flinched as she stopped another piece of debris from hitting herself, causing her to miss the shattered wood from piercing Hren's flesh. Cursing, she was jarred from her feet as another fragment landed inches from crushing her. Cassandra panted, rolling to one side on the ground and scrambled to her feet once more, finally seeing that the castle had found its resting place. On top of the remnants of Hren's house.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her Master nursing his injured arm and she couldn't help but hurry over to ensure his safety, barely even noticing the limp in her step from the last roll of hers apparently ripping a bit of her calf. Pain was fleeting, right? "Master Scarheart are you hurt? You gave me quite a scare.. is anything else injured, or just your arm impaired?"

Cassandra blinked slowly, hearing the words slip from her lips in a melodic and beautiful soprano tone. "Well this I've never seen, or heard for that remark... I guess you've seen your wishes now, are you still left in the dark?" She smiled. This for once going to be a pleasant wish to deal with and noting the castle resting before her, she realized two matters. First of all, when wishes went wrong, they went wrong. This was odd and something she had never seen before, but it was also a sight that was more unexpected with what the wish's topic happened to be. Perhaps it was from that illogical field she'd heard mentioned occasionally.

Second.. it seemed that she was still accurate. Becoming attached to anything, especially an object as simple as a dwelling, was not an emotion intended for a Djinn. As she stared at the ominous castle, wondering how far the wish had reached beyond the immediate area, Cassandra couldn't help but think to herself, I should have never thought it as mine... this is just another sign. She smiled with a bemusement. Even her thoughts seemed to come out in song... interesting.

Elsharaz stared wide-eyed at the castle, having barely moved an inch as the birdbath remained unfazed by the debacle. His voice rang out in a deep baritone that reverberated for all in the area to hear. If this is a wish, I certainly approve, though the castle on your house should definitely move.


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Song :: Wherever I May Roam
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Raferties
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Lorekeeper
[ *  *  * ]
Those that knew the angel, even casually, would note that he was doing something out of the ordinary today. The sun had long since risen, casting its warm rays over the land and stirring most everyone from their beds... except for said angel.

That's right: Raferties the Lorekeeper of Solaris, patron of the sun in his home world, who typically rose with the dawn to begin his day... was sleeping in.

Granted, given recent events - moving into a new dwelling with his mate and daughter (some adjustments and arrangements still being worked out), learning how to tend to Girith's new scales (whoever would have thought that hard, almost metal-like scales would need oiling?), and of most recent events, the ultimate defeat of the one creature that he had encountered whom could be called his nemesis (though said Tailor's defeat had left a permanent mark on Teragaia in the form of a portal to the Seventh Layer of Hell... blame the Illogical Field combined with Words of Creation for that) - it was probably understandable. Even Belial, who didn't need sleep at all, had slept much of late, mentally and physically worn out. Raferties had briefly awoken close to dawn, when the sun was just beginning to fully breech the horizon as he felt the ground shake, but his eyes barely opened more than a slit, and all he could think was either a dragon had made a rough landing nearby, or the Illogical Field had decided to make dawn break, literally (it wouldn't have surprised him if it had; it was just as reasonable as anything else it did). As there was no call of alarm from Girith or anyone outside, he had let his heavy eyelids close again and returned to dreams, smiling in his sleep.

Now, with the day a little more advanced, the angel finally awoke fully, sitting up and stretching arms and wings and smiling. He could've sworn he heard music from the moment he opened his eyes, but that in and of itself wasn't all that odd. It was one of the flip-coins of an eidetic memory: you could never forget anything (good or bad), and sometimes when a particular melody came to mind he would hear it so well that it was like it was being performed somewhere around him. He smiled anyhow, getting up and preparing for the day, subconsciously dancing a bit as he was wont to do when there was music running in his head (Oh, misguided angel you). After dressing, he picked up his staff with a playful, one-handed twirl, then turned to see that Aurae was in his spot on the bed, head buried under the pillow. He chuckled - perhaps she wasn't quite ready to face the day. Well, that was alright. She would find him when she was well and awake.

Cheerfully the Lorekeeper went through his home - his weyr, he reminded himself - finding that it seemed all his companions were already out for the day. That was is and of itself a bit odd, but then again they might have been wanting to let him sleep. Despite their varies personalities, all of them could be rather considerate when they wanted to be, especially in regards to himself, Kaya, or Belial, both whom they knew he held very dear. Speaking of the pair... it seemed they were already out as well. Well, everyone was beating him to the draw this day, it seemed. Raferties just laughed to himself, feeling surprisingly exuberant and bright, much like the music that continued to jog around in his thoughts, and went out to greet the one companion that he sensed still nearby, even if the dragon had been surprisingly quiet this whole while, not even a good morning to his Rider.

Girith was away from his stone couch - an appropriate a term as any, though Raferties couldn't quite find how the mottle blue could find such comfortable - outside laying in the sun and looking rather magnificent, if strangely put out at something. Raferties tipped his head, briefly concerned, then approached, his worry momentarily pushing the music from his mind. With a flick of his silver-mottle wings - a trait now somewhat shared between dragon and rider - Raferties approached Girith and rested a hand on his forearm.

"What troubles you this beautiful day, my fri-" Raferties stopped speaking - er, singing with a startled expression and one hand going to cover his mouth. Girith groaned, foregoing mindspeech and giving the angel an 'oh, not you too!' expression. Perhaps it was his general good mood, or the dragon's expression, but something about the whole situation struck Raferties as funny, and he chuckled. "I see the IF is up to its play by making everyone sing today." This was the apparent situation, though confirmation was again given in a low growling groan. Girith, apparently, didn't appreciate the humor in it at all."Look to the bright side, do not act so lost. It could have covered the world in ten inches of frost. At least there is no harm in being made to sing to silence every bird on the wing."

Grrrr.... Again Raferties laughed, rather musically he now realized, and laid his head against his forearm on the dragon's shoulder, a gesture of affection.

"If you would like, as this makes you so vexed, I shall try to find the source of this musical hex. I admit,though this mystery does confound, it is somewhat nice to hear music all around." Now that he was paying attention, he could hear others engaged in such lyrical conversations elsewhere, some in amusement, others in frustration, and some rather not well in-key. The dragon just growled again - by now Raferties was beginning to think Girith didn't want to risk having to sing. He just chuckled, mildly wondering how Belial and Keldos were handling all this (Kaya, he had a feeling, would rather have fun with it herself), then went to the edge of the dragon's ledge to take flight, pausing to look over his shoulder. Keep watch over the others I pray while I go out today?

As you wish...grrrr! Raferties laughed aloud as the dragon slipped and 'spoke' only to then bury his muzzle under his forepaws. He had a rather nice singing voice, the angel had to admit, though he certainly wasn't too happy with all this.

Deciding not to bother the dragon anymore, Raferties beat his wings and took off into the air where the source of the problem... well, it wasn't hard to spot. A large castle, just... sitting in the middle of the forest, where it wasn't the previous day. If ever there looked like something the IF had done, that was it. He paused mid-air to hover, shaking his head in amusement before making his way by air over towards it. From his higher vantage point he was able to see that it was no where near Gray's old forest home - a good thing as he thought it would pain his friend greatly to lose the small dwelling - but by the look of debris there had been something else at the impact site. And... yes, there were two people down there! The angel didn't think that either were harmed, at least enough to stop them from being on their feet and moving around, but better to be safe than sorry when castles drop out of the sky randomly.

What he didn't quite predict was as he came down from the heavens, the strangeness of the IF would respond accordingly with a grand, regal flourish that brought a bit of heat to the cheeks of the rather modest Lorekeeper, even as he landed and the music faded out.

"Eh, sorry about that," he chuckled, trying to maintain his dignity and noting that he had spoken normally. This, as it was soon to be shown, would not last as he sang once more when he next opened his mouth. "I noticed the IF was doing its usual thing and seems to be making everyone dance and sing. I thought I would try to find out its cause and hopefully a means to make it pause. Given this castle is the only thing new it appears to be my best clue, so perhaps you could tell me - ah, there is blood on your shirt! Are you hurt?" The angel's eyes had finally settled away from the castle onto Hren's shoulder. "May I help? I can heal?"

Well, at least he hadn't rhymed that time....D'oh!

(Word Count: 1419; words: Winter's Chill - Frost and Who? What? - Confound. Just for everyone's awareness, I am NOT participating in the song challenge, but for my own amusement I am attempting to have each of my posts relate to the same artist's songs, which I will link at the bottom. If you want to hear the songs, just click 'download' on the page, and it will open the song to be listened to in a new tab.
Inspiration Song: Fox Amoore's Shine the Light ))
Note: Until further stated, Scarheart, Belial, and Cassandra have standing permission to powerplay Raferties or Anari.
Raferties and his Shinies ~~Anari and her Shinies~~ Keldos and his Shinies~~Cobalt and her Shinies~~Taki and her Shinies~~Kemori and his Shinies
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"There was a point in my life where I truly wanted to die, but could not. So much pain and suffering. When one is born immortal, or rather created immortal, they have a completely different way of accepting the world around them and disconnecting from it. However, when you are born mortal with the understanding that, one day, you would die, suddenly becoming immortal is a nigh impossible prospect with which to deal. Its at this point you have to either drift away from the emptiness that fills you and become something new, or you fall into the pit of despair and never recover. You see the choice I've made." - Hren "Scarheart" Ildarys

"I assure you, I'm fine, aside from singing all my lines."
Hren groaned as the rhyming continued. Then of course he heard Elsharaz mention a castle.

"I can't say I'm one to really complain, but a castle does surely explain, my arm's Excruciating pain, and everyone speaking in refrain, though how it ever arrived on this plane, is something vastly out of the vein - of my understanding.

"At this time I'm rather okay, though I appreciate your offer this day, to heal and make my wounds go away, but this castle really cannot stay, so enter and discover its source I say - though I'm not demanding."

Hren was many things. A musician was not one of them. While he had rhythm to his words and managed to maintain the beat, it was closer to rapping in sequence, as opposed to anything with chords or melody. He shrugged off the fact he was now forced to display his thought in musical poetry, and just moved toward the castle slinging the bits of splinters from him entirely.

Serosa quickly flew to Hren's side and began to open her mouth to speak, but promptly shut it upon realizing it would let everyone hear her vocal superiority - a thought that had her as mute as a church mouse. Her frustration was obvious on the matter when the fire coating her roared with a more intense heat than was her normal.

As Hren moved forward toward the castle entrance; two double doors flanked on both sides by the remnants of his cabin. Raferties and Cassandra (and company) would follow suit. While the pace was swift and the footsteps sure, everyone could sense the hesitation from the darkness beyond - especially as they gathered closer to it and could hear dark, deep, heavy music from inside...

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The heavy doors swung open haphazardly, the old iron hinges rusted thoroughly enough to allow one door to slip entirely from its placement to clatter to the stone floor cacophonously. Hren had to nimbly maneuver to one side to avoid the collapsing door - Elsharaz attempted to hide the fact he was startled by the impact; none noticed bur Serosa, who shot him a knowing smile.

Within, the castle was dark and looming. Cassandra conjured a small, crystalline ice shard to her hand that shed a beautiful blue light into the ruin beyond. Though Hren knew not that light was present, he could sense the chill magic behind him. That told him the others were close, and so he pressed onward followed by Cassandra and Raferties.

As the eeriness of a dilapidated castle took hold of all those present, the light slowly diminished in Cassandra's grip while the darkest essence of void took over. Behind them, the castle's interior was seeming to consume the outside world, turning that also into the pitch of midnight.

"It looks like we can enter, but none can leave - a cursed castle upon us, I do believe."
Although Hren was blind and well accustomed to it, he could sense the presence of the Utter Darkness; something far beyond the absence of light. He tried diligently to relax himself just short of the entrance to listen for wind and other sounds in the room ahead of them, though the music that was echoing throughout the whole of the castle was making this rather difficult. The music was comprised of several instruments and strong voices, but the acoustics of the room were terrible and Hren was easily able to pinpoint large objects, walls, and exits through the chamber.

Through it all, Hren started feeling his bones chill and the damp nature of the ruins rush through his body. He suddenly felt a weakness in him; frailty. The weight on his legs felt intense, and his whole body had the sensation of the pressure snapping him in half. While his bones did not break, he could tell they were suddenly weaker - and he had no idea why.

Cassandra felt it too; the weakness in her limbs and joints. On top of that, the light she -knew- she still held, had stopped shedding its icy glow. She intensified the frozen glass's shine, but still she couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. Was she... blind?

Raferties, a creature created from raw light, felt utterly unnerved in the darkness of the ruin. It was a darkness like his frequent nightmares - a truly horrid experience in which the Light of Solaris had been snuffed out by evil entities. "Solaris, though you be far away, bless us with your Hallowed Light of Day." Raferties tried with all his might to summon forth his angelic light - but nothing happened. He could feel the radiant corona, the blessing of Solaris wash through him, but the deeper darkness would not be vanquished.

Cassandra frowned. "Beautiful prayer, Raferties. Did it... do anything? Its still rather dark - no light did you bring."

Abruptly, there was a pain-staking flash of white light in the center of the room. Cassandra and Raferties would only get the most brief of view of the pulsation. Atop a simple stone fountain, long since deprived of liquid and functionality, appeared a creature. Its body made of pure alabaster, hardened like steel, it was the visage of an Angelic Abomination. Wings of darkest obsidian furthered the appearance, while its arms lunged forward while drawing forth a sword made of glimmering blue mithril.

As the darkness took hold of their visions once again, Cassandra and Raferties had to recoil from the rapid change in sight. Over the course of the next few seconds, the light would flash on and off again, penetrating the darkness for only fractions of time. (Imagine a Strobe Light). Even Hren was affected by the flares of light, for even through his blindfold, it was enough to cause him brief distractions from his calculations. With each pulse of light, the creature drew nearer toward Raferties, the being that had spoken him into existence.

"I do not like the idea of battle, when this light my brain has addled!" Hren Shouted over the otherwise prevailing noise in the chamber.

Though the creature was made of inorganic materials, Hren caught the movements as they vibrated against the floor and made similar noises to their flesh counterparts. The wings ever so slightly shuffled like feathers. The blade ever so slightly sang. He suddenly knew very much where he was. Castle Deadrose.

As the music permeated every inch of him, the sounds of the nearby creature almost faded completely from his mind. Once again, his memory took over as he traveled back to the watercolor images he kept, of a battle in this very room. Lord Deadrose had used the most foul magic he could muster to summon forth a guardian in this welcome room - an Angel bound by vile incantations. Here, Hren fought along side several allies as he commanded a military - assigned to storm this corrupt castle once and for all.

The angel was bound in thick, blood-drenched flesh-sewn bands, one around its neck, one around each ankle, and one around each wrist. In the end, though many dozens of soldiers were lost, the creature was felled by magic incinerating the braces from his limbs and neck. The angel was then free to return to its place of rest.


~Perhaps that will work here, as well~
Hren thought to himself as he slowly drew back into the sounds of reality. He couldn't hear that sort of accoutrement that might adorn such a creature, he had to rely on his... companions. He had no idea what that was like until this very moment - relying on someone else. He had been so independent his entire life, that this experience, was truly frightening. He had no choice. They were smart, they were caring enough, they could do this - they just had to focus.

"Concentrate through the light! Collars or Bracers, does he wear? They're weak to magic! Do not give in to the despair."

The task would not be easy with the flickers of light so infinitesimal.

First, Cassandra noticed the bulge around the creature's wrist - even as it brought that greatsword down toward the top of her head. The light was already gone just at the moment she would have to avoid certain death.

Second, Raferties noticed the band around the creature's ankle - even as it was lifting that massive leg to stomp on the angelic figure before it.

Third... all three could feel the waves of terror washing over them. The music rose to explosions of sound and refrain, driving home the hopelessness of success, and the agony of defeat. As if the giant aggressive angel statue wasn't enough to deal with, they were having to battle themselves as well - their own instincts crying out, as if their souls were trying to escape the madness encroaching upon them so rapidly.

Hren refused to be helpless just because he did not wield magic. At the least, he could make the evil machination focus on him, distracted from his initial targets. Stumbling over some of the old, rotten, broken furniture in the room, he scrambled to a stone pillar and used it to vault onto the creature's back, shoving it with just enough force to... do absolutely nothing. He simply bounced off the machine-like abomination and fell to the stone below - painfully. It didn't even pay the harmless fly a second's though - Raferties and Cassandra were in trouble.

_________________________________________________________________________________
Song
Fade to Black

(To the Touch Challenge: Damp, 1707 Words)
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The mere idea of entering the castle was a faint bit daunting; the ominous structure seemed to loom over her with unspoken warning and despair. It was not too pleasant of a concept to breech the archway, but she knew that to stop the wish that had been laid before them (literally), they most likely were going to need to enter nonetheless. Great.

Elsharaz was equally nervous, his fur standing on end and his eyes narrowed to dart to and fro. He wasn't about to let something harm his Master... a curl of his lip illustrated his defiance of the darkness right before he was forced to hide his true emotions from the door's jarring nature. Alright, so perhaps he wasn't quite a full-grown Hellhound yet. That was alright; Cassandra needed a companion, not a champion.

As they entered, Cassandra softly hummed to herself. Whether it was her own doing or the wish at hand, none could really tell (not even the Djinn, honestly), but it was minutely comforting, so she minded little. "The darkness here is like a cage, against it we will surely wage... allow me to make it disengage." A flick of her hand brought the crystalline light to life, though entering the building fully caused her stomach to sink and her throat to dry.

No, Cassandra was not claustrophobic. You really can't be claustrophobic and be a Djinn... the mere idea of existing within an item would probably cause you to go insane, most likely causing you to destroy your entire living domicile. That would be awkward. No, she wasn't that, however none can truly be comfortable in that kind of darkness. Especially when your light begins to fade from your sight and you can feel the sensation of hopelessness overwhelming your mind and soul.

When the light utterly faded from existence, the Djinn felt a mild panic rise, but managed to briefly push it down. Adding more magic did nothing. Beside her to her left, she heard the echo of the angel.. that glorious angel.. trying to bring his own illumination into the mix. A smile started to flicker to her lips, only to be replaced with a crestfallen expression that none could see, but surely could be heard in her melodic vocals, "Beautiful prayer, Raferties. Did it... do anything? Its still rather dark - no light did you bring."

I don't like this, not a single bit. I smell something rising that will not submit. Dust that moves and the earth that quakes, a calm traverse we will not make.

That didn't help. Cassandra closed her eyes as she tried to prevent her fear to get the better of her, but it was too much. It reminded her too much of the flask.

----------------------------------------------------*-------------------------------------------------------------

The first time Cassandra remembered entering that damned flask. She didn't know what existed before the event, but she of course could recollect awakening in the dark. At the time, the interior of the flask was void of any furniture or luxuries. It was a room of nothingness. She screamed, clawed, and found that she was not incapable of harming herself. The pain would have been excruciating if she had not been so focused on the sheer fact that she was imprisoned. She had the knowledge that someone should have been able to hear her, but there was nothing. No response, no acknowledgment at all.

It didn't take long for her to find the magic. That definitely didn't help the situation as frozen trails began to fill the chamber with her to cover the walls and cause the floors to become slick with a sheet of ice. Icicles formed from the ceiling, though she was unaware of that because with all this frozen horror, there was still no light. Feeling around in the cold, her body not accustomed to the chill like it would be centuries later, she felt like she should be dying, yet nothing happened. She would lay for hours on the hard floor with her eyes closed, imagining what the sun would feel on her flesh once more.

Eventually, she was pulled forth into the sunlight. It was more of a Hell to see the sun now then ever before... because she had to go back into the flask after her Master was finished with his demanding nature. Returning to screaming into nothingness.


----------------------------------------------------*-------------------------------------------------------------

"Concentrate through the light! Collars or Bracers, does he wear? They're weak to magic! Do not give in to the despair."

Scarheart's words pierced through her memories like one of his very own weapons. She had seen the light, seen everything that had happened, but during it all, she had been frozen with the memory and fear that coursed through her body. They're going to need me. Stop this, you're a Djinn for crying out loud. Cassandra shook her head and shot a look up just in time to see the statuesque angel's sword plummeting towards her.

She also saw the band. Smirking faintly, she took the residual magic from her lackluster crystalline light and shattered it, channeling it into the much needed orb of ice. It was going to need as much energy as possible for this to penetrate that band. "Your band will not be needed, I fear for you, my dear, when we finish with you, you'll leave as you appeared."

With a pulse of her magic (the more reliable magic, of course), Cassandra hurled the orb at the band, hitting it directly across the side as she tumbled to her right, her knee hitting into the stone floor hard enough to make a faint popping sound. Wincing back a shriek, the sword dug firmly into the earth inches away from her. Oh wait. Not inches. Hren could smell the perfume of blood suddenly and Cassandra cringed as the pain hit with such intensity, she saw colors again technically. However, spots don't really count in this circumstance.

Knowing that to be of use to Raferties and Scarheart, Cassandra acted with utter instinct, slapping her hand to the gash on her leg. Fire was better, but of how she loathed the element. Ice worked just fine. This time she did let out a scream. Ice filled the wound, her other hand necessary to cover the entire slice down her calf.

She could feel that at least the blood had stopped flowing over the ground beneath her, but it also meant that her maneuvering was drastically reduced. This was going to make matters rather difficult, she figured, but it was something that perhaps Raferties could fix if they survived. For now, she would deal with one good leg and her head being attached.

The Djinn smiled as a flash of light filled their surroundings and she saw the shattered band on the ground a distance away. That... she'd settle for that, too.

Cassandra was not about to lose this opportunity. As the blade grated against the stone beside her, the wretched resonance of the statue's granite weapon against the harsh flooring making everyone's ears feel as though they needed to bleed about now, Cassandra ignored repercussion and grasped at the flat of the blade. Her hand was forced, to achieve a secure enough grip, to also grasp at the edge, but it wasn't quite as sharp as she had presumed it would be. She supposed that if you are swinging so large of a weapon that it could bifurcate you, you don't really need to worry too terribly about how many whet stones you go through.

As her fingers grazed the stone, she let out a rather chilled laugh, her voice seeming to echo above all else in the room. "Come, my little statue, you look better in frost. Let me give you a hand for the one you have lost." Ice shot up through the sword beside her like it was alive on its own, wrapping around the weapon and up to the hand of the angel. A sharp CRACK made it apparent that the ice was not making the integrity of the statue's fingers very reliable.

Ice continued to spike up the statue's limb, though it felt no pain she guessed, and encased it thoroughly. The smile widened on the Djinn as she simply thought to her cowering pup, Now, now, Elsharaz, there is nothing to fear. The statue is as brittle as a gown that is sheer. Be a good boy and help your friend, add a little pressure where the cracking begins.

Mustering his courage, Elsharaz launched into the fray of battle, displaying his desire to be at his Master's side and lunging at the statue with fury only a Hellhound puppy could have. His paws landed in the spot Cassandra had indicated, the perfect placement to counter the frail nature of the stone. With the band missing, it was as simple as that. The arm snapped, an explosion of ice and rock that fell like rain around Cassandra and Elsharaz, her arms wrapping quickly around the falling pup to protect him as best as she could. Any could still hear her laughter as the crash of the broken arm fragments fell to the cool, dark stone. Of course, the room was filled with the empty dark, so it's not like it was that visible of a sight in the first place.

"One band down, another few to go, let's see how he handles your radiance and my snow." Cassandra glance towards where she knew the real angel was last seen, hoping that her Master was managing alright. She knew he was alive after the fall... if he died, she returned to her flask for another to take hold of her. She couldn't let this monstrosity exist long enough to hurt her friends.

*~* OOC :: Art in the Park ("Sunlight") // To The Touch ("Dry") // Game On! ("Lose")

_________________________________________________________________________________


Trapped Under Ice is my song for Music Challenge.
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[ *  *  * ]
Despite the woodsman's assurances that he was okay, Raferties still slipped up behind him as they moved towards the castle and rested a hand on his shoulder, giving a feel of sunlight warmth as the healing magic took hold anyhow. No sense going into the unknown with injuries.

"Likely the culprit whom this musical spell did wield would be the thing called the Illogical Field. I would attempt to further explain but in song t'would be a pain." He flinched at the contraction, something that typically never entered his speech. He kept his eyes on the castle, looking for defenders or any sign of life a they reached the door... and one side completely fell off, making Scarheart have to jump back, as well as Raferties as the angel had been partially behind him at the time. "I suppose there is no need to knock - but at least there was also no lock. Despite the seeming lack of inhabitants, Raferties' melodic singing was quiet. One never knew what could lurk in the darkness. That music flowed out of it to greet them was not much comfort, even to one to whom song usually was such. It wasn't like the melodies that Raferties could himself play on his harp or sing, or that he enjoyed listening to. This was dark, haunting, and heavy, the kind that weighed down the spirit. In response to this Cassandra's glowing icy shard was a welcome respite... while it lasted. Dimmer and dimmer the light waned, as the darkness grew upon them, until it pressed upon the eyes like a heavy blanket. He shook his head instinctively, reached out, but nothing was permeating the black. In quick desperation, as nightmares of the destruction of his home heavens pressed upon his mind, the Lorekeeper murmured a prayer to comfort himself, and tried to surround himself in his Radiance.

"Solaris, though you be far away, bless us with your Hallowed Light of Day."

Although he felt it within him, burning with the welcome intensity of the sun itself, still all he saw was blackness.

"Beautiful prayer, Raferties. Did it... do anything? It's still rather dark - no light did you bring." Heating Cassandra's voice from his side was a comfort in and of itself - at least he was not alone, as he always was in his nightmares, and not shrouded in silence as well as darkness.

The sudden white flash of light caught him by surprise, making him cry out in pain and throw up an arm to shield eyes that had been struggling to see in the darkness. Despite the brevity of the glimpse, eidetic memory would tell Raferties what he had seen even before his mind could fully wrap around it. Anyone who had never seen an angel before might have considered it an angelic statue, but no angel Raferties knew of was that tall or fair of skin, and the obsidian wings harkened back to a Fallen. The drawing of the sword told him this was no harmless thing, and he threw himself to the side on reflex, trying to put distance between himself and this foe.

The continued flashes gave him just enough visibility to manuver, though trying to see in them was hurting his eyes terribly, unable to adjust quickly enough, and he knew it was coming towards him. The Lorekeeper continued to retreat, as Scarheart called out once again, speaking of collars and bracers, weak to magic.

Another flash! And in that moment of light, Raferties spied the band around its ankle. With the music thundering around them, the light flashing, and he fighting disorientation, the stomping attack that came in nearly got him... other than his body reacting almost on instinct, something he didn't realize or understand. His evasion was not perfect, however, as one wing was slightly clipped, flight feathers getting torn out and dissolving into dust. He rolled across the ground, tumbled to his feet, and clasped his staff in both hands, bracing for a moment to attack.

Part of his mind however was distracted by a niggling thought that wouldn't leave him alone. It was like part of him had realized something, and was trying furiously to tell the other part. Even as Cassandra froze one wrist, and Elsharaz finished the job, the monster turned towards him again and this time kicked out, trying to bash in his chest. Again, Raferties evaded just barely by jumping back to save himself, then twisting away... and it was then that he realized it.

Focusing with everything he had, he began to do something that might have come off as strange, if anyone else could have heard it: he started to hum with the music. Carefully moving, feeling and listening and waiting for a moment to evade, he weathered through another eye-searing flash... that was right on beat. The monstrous construct's next attack was also on beat, and when Raferties dodged in beat, he was not touched!

It was all tied to the song!

"Light and statue, bound by rhythm, turning into fearsome plight! Listen, listen to the music! Use it! Let it guide your move and strike!"

He could only hope that they understood his words, as he let himself relax and instead of fighting against the flashing light and harsh tune, fell into it, moving with its beat and finding that sure enough, he was able to avoid the statue's blows.

But, frustratingly, as it was also moving to the song he was unable to land a blow on the ankle band!

For about three passes he tried, only to miss by inches or be forced to dodge an otherwise deadly blow. But when he tried to go against the song, he scrambled to keep himself safe. There just had to be a way to break through, somehow!

Concentrating on keeping himself alive for the now, Raferties was able to turn part of his thoughts to that goal, and found himself remembering many, many years ago, overhearing a song that was performed at a holiday on the mortal plane of his original world. Why was he suddenly reminded of it now? It... His eyes widened. That song and this one had similar rhythm, similar pace and meter. Perhaps...

Taking the risk, Raferties opened his mouth and began to sing. Neither Cassandra nor Scarheart would be able to understand the Solarian words, and it took Raferties a bit to adjust the speed of his singing to match, but when he did so... well, it wasn't the most pretty of descants ever, when blended to the original song echoing through the castle, but it would give him what he needed.

His song, you see, had extra beats!

Raferties waited for the perfect moment, even launching himself into the air on rhythmically beating wings, and when he sang one of the off-beats, with the creature off-balance, dived, lunged forward under the statue's reach. The light chose that moment, that next beat, to be off so he had to rely on his memory. He heard the heavy stomp, right on cue, and snapped out his hand wrapped in holy fire. His fingertips brushed over something that felt repulsive to his touch...

...then realized he'd miscalculated the distance to the ground. Raferties hit hard, tumbling and rolling, but just barely holding to his song even through his head gave a sharp crack against the ground. He pushed himself to a knee, wincing, and saw in the next flash a scorch mark on the creature's ankle, and the incinerated band on the ground.

Rejuvenated, Raferties beat his wings and pulled himself into the air again (though he was dizzy), and sang louder, putting extra emphasis on the off-beats to tell his allies when was an opening to strike!

((Word count: 1298 - At the Zoo - Feathers, To the Touch - Sharp, Game on - Save. Songs for this installment are The Nine for the entrance to the castle and Fite of Vengence for the fight itself, both songs by by Fox Amoore
Note: Until further stated, Scarheart, Belial, and Cassandra have standing permission to powerplay Raferties or Anari.
Raferties and his Shinies ~~Anari and her Shinies~~ Keldos and his Shinies~~Cobalt and her Shinies~~Taki and her Shinies~~Kemori and his Shinies
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"I was forced to begin my slave labor at 9; three years after most of the children. Being blind gave me very few privileges in life, but this was certainly one of them. Even with that extra time, however, I spent most of my days helping my parents so that I could learn how to function without my eyes. While the slaving family knew I could be made useful with patience, the taskmasters weren't so intelligent as to recognize the potential. Long before I was forced to assist, I was beaten for mistakes by the rawhide whips wielded by the oafish slobs who lucked out enough to have a job that involved injuring folks to do work they could just do themselves.

It didn't take long, observing the sort of people that ran this slave farm, for me to start concocting all sorts of plans to escape. By the age of 12, I was already trying schemes and accepting my punishment for them. Running was always futile - bolas were quite painful being that small. Next, I tried sneaking into the gigantic loads of laundry and being driven off the ranch via a wagon - they stabbed a lot of good sheets to find me.

Regardless of what I tried, it eventually dawned on me that there would be only one way by which I could ever get off that accursed, god-forsaken farm - lethality. Quietly, I trained. I needed endurance, so I worked extra hard, intentionally throwing myself into the job as hard as I could and going to rest every evening nearly crying myself to sleep. With endurance, toughness was needed - so I started making minor errors on purpose to get a couple of licks of whip sting every single day. Afterward, I need to be stronger - faster. I started proving I could do heavier work, and thus getting assigned heavier work, until I was doing more intense yard work than my father. I eventually even got to mine the caverns nearby for iron and copper. The feel of a pick axe was great weapon training. Moreover, I got to learn subtle texture differences by pinpointing veins of ore amongst the smooth rock walls.

Pushups after work, situps and pullups in the morning - I was making my body a machine of liberation, and I wasn't going to rush it this time - oh no, I was going to bide my time and wait for that perfect opportunity.

It came in the form of a Slave Keeper trying to single-handedly control a group of 50 outdoor workers. A man that had recently been injured was not pulling his weight, and the rotund louse begin to crack the whip against the servants back, though the second lash never made it to my fellow worker. I caught the whip bare-handed and, ignoring the sharp, wracking pain shooting through my wrist and forearm, and used all my might to tumble the waste of flesh onto the pile of rocks we'd been using to make a wall. I heard his neck snap from the impact - his death made evident by the gasps from the others there. They were too afraid to run - I wasn't.

Scooping up a rock hammer and the whip itself, I quickly evacuated the farm. I can remember my blood running down my arm and onto the earth just outside the fencing. I swore an oath on that blood - an oath I upheld despite all odds."


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~Light. So ironic that this world grants me a gift that is also a curse. If this creature is bound by song, let's sing his final verse.~
Hren scrambled away backwards from the now-sundered stone giant, scrambling over some crumbling bits of debris and tile until he felt wall. Eagerly he listened to the sounds of combat just before him while he pulled himself up against the vertical stone brace of the wall and a nearby pillar. Timing was everything, and now that he was prepared for the flashes, he could brace his eyes against them - keeping them from entering his brain at all.

~Nothing new, nothing different, just another adversary. Who cares if he's twelve foot tall and made of stone, now is not the time to tarry.~ While the Djinn wielded her tundra-scented frost magic and the angelic loremaster wielded light and flame, Hren could only listen on in futility as he had no such powers - no such magic. Of course, he had none of his own.

He waited to hear stone clatter to the ground and the rustling of real angelic feathers, the mobility of the two as they dove around the statue splitting its attention with ease for several stomps and weaponless flailing. When both the wrist bracer and ankle wrap were attacked with magic, their matching counterparts too fell to the castle floor. Only the collar was left.

Hren once again used the pillars, the furniture in the room, the debris - everything - to his advantage to get high enough to leap at the guardian's back. This time, he was not trying to impact it, but rather grabbed hold tightly to the machination of evil. The shoulders were broad and coarse, the wings flared to each side instead of together. The sightless hero crawled and clawed to the neck of the juggernaut and wrapped his arms around the collar, leaning around to shot through the darkness.

"Ignore the light, bend your sight, and strike with magic might, don't worry about if you can't see, hear my voice, aim at me!"

The Djinn and Angel, combining their fire and frost, would create a strong, devastating blast that could render any limb a sunder, but Hren waited, listened, and timed his evasive maneuver with ease. The bolt of cold and magical heat took proverbial wing and flew through the air right at Hren - until he ducked low, letting go of the golem, and tumbling backwards and away. The cold blue flame ratcheted the collar from its place and the thing simply ceased to be in an explosion that sent the false angel to its timely doom. There was no more evil in this room. Too did the frailty fade. Cassandra and Raferties slowly regained their sight, as the room was now filled with a new ode to darkness - the music changing as the first challenge was complete.

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"I'm not sure how we did it, or rather I should say you two, without your magical gift, there would have been naught I could do." Hren sang his thanks as he took his feet, now able to take note of how the exits in the entrance chamber had changed during the combat. Now, there were only two paths to take, though one was covered with a thick blue spider web that seemed to pulse with the music and glow with a foreboding light.

The alternative was a stairway directly opposite the webbing that wound down into pure darkness once again. On the ceiling was a dark map, a constellation of the night sky belonging to the world from which this castle came. Hren couldn't see it, but he remembered it being to the right of the room where the guardian was vanquished. Soldiers were marveling at it. He never went this way...

A mercenary sat alone on a hilltop overlooking Illunari Ruins not 200 feet below. The once-beautiful crystalline spires had been reduced to ivy-covered cylinders that couldn't even be recognized as translucent any longer. A different man with money wanted something from here, though he was not Elven. He had paid top coin to have someone come and rob from not only the dead, but a dead civilization; to steal the very culture of the few remaining Elves in the world. Why? Because his wife really loved sapphires.

Long before the dawn would come over the eastern horizon, the sellsword descended into the ruins through a few holes in the upper floors of a particularly large tower. The interior was made entirely of ivory. It once likely floated about, unattached to anything, and made intricate stairways and chambers. Now, it was nothing more than debris to be shoved aside so that greater treasures in the heart of the ruin could be uncovered.

The ghosts of the past were not ready to relinquish their treasures, however, and paid close attention to this intruder. They waited patiently, their spirits clinging to the warmth of his mortality. Eventually, after sending many subterranean creatures to their next existence, he uncovered the vault of Emperor Lanshin tel'Karillien. Here, the spirits took to their target, wrapping him in shadow, fear, doubt, and memory. Suddenly, he was seeing the terrain without the city.

Crystal was brought from all around the world through Elven portals, massive stone gates with words older than the Gods themselves inscribed upon them. The Illunari were planning to erect a capitol here - the shining beacon of hope, inspiration, and Elvendom for all in the world to share. The night sky was dense and infinite, with thousands of stars forming hundreds of constellations. Hren had never seen the night sky before that moment - these spirits showed it to him, at least thousands of years ago.

"I... this can't be real... can it?" Hren spoke out loud, turning again and again to take in every sight he could. He watched as the Elves built for 600 years. He watched still as they made an empire that flourished; true trade prospering between all races. This empire lasted for longer than he could really count, but definitely more than 2000 years. Then he saw the Dwarven Jealousy, and the Human Greed, and the Orcish Hatred. He saw even the Gods turn on the Illunari, as their city was sundered and their people plagued. Over the next 30 years, 90% of their entire race blinked into nothingness, like a starless night.

Hren never took another step deeper, apologized to the spirits, and vowed to forget its location. He never looked back, never spoke of the ruins, and never once passed by an Elf in need again. Those spirits blessed him, while ever so briefly, with true beauty, happiness, grief, and sorrow. It was an indescribable transition for Hren. Never a mercenary again.


"Despite the fact the music has no voice, it seems we've been ordered down, with little choice." Hren made his way to the walls beside the passage, and leaned in toward the darkness. From the depths, as the music faded, all he could hear were the distinct sounds of shuffling corpses - undead.

"Raferties, I think you should lead us down, angels' destruction of undead is quite renown."

Hren actually took the rear flank this time, following the other two figures down slowly, each step echoing more loudly than the last. Once again, as the trio approached the void below, all light faded into nothingness. Each step took more and more effort to push down that next couple of inches. Each grinding of dry, weathered flesh against the stone drove chills through the spines of our would-be heroes.

Just before arriving upon the last step, hands on walls guiding each clumsy foot's placement, Hren whispered forcibly: "It is more than the living dead that lingers here - I smell in the air the embodiment of fear. There's something wrong, something worse, something dark beneath the earth. Deep inside I just... feel this itch..."

Suddenly before them, the chambers flaring into being like hellfire, was a small undead army, led by... A Lich.

"Hit it!"

All the skeletons began to beat upon their own bones, forming a melodic instrumental performance to echo through the basement. The air filled with the myriad of tympani drums, xylophones, snares, and cymbals. Next, the zombies began performing a soft background chant, much akin to a bass guitar. Finally, the lich pulled forth the ribcage of a nearby skeleton, stringing it with sinew and other tidly bits of flesh. The frets pulled tight with finger bones, and he let out a wicked strum that exploded all about.

You've come a long way down - but now its time to drown!
A band wrought from brightest hell, while in your mind your terror swells
In the darkest hearts it dwells, now hear for you those deathly bells!

Another mighty strum sent terror washing through the minds of all present, as the lich's voice split into multiple deep tenors. Hren, Cassandra, and Raferties could even hear the faint ringing of death bells in the distance - like a funeral procession.

In my words a challenge lies, keep in mind the loser dies
Your mortal flesh offends my eyes, your pulsing blood's what I despise

My first verse is your undoing, there are no words that your mewling
Weak, deficient minds are brewing, that your lips just might be spewing

I take my bow, you've just been beat, unless of course you can unseat!

The Deafening Dead
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Song
That Was Just Your Life

(To the Touch, At the Zoo Challenge: sharp, keeper, 2179 words)
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On the edge of Cassandra's line of sight, she could make out the angel's actions, the flares of light making identifying specifically what he was doing rather difficult. Nonetheless, she managed to let a cocky smile touch her lips as she tried to ignore the incrementally growing pain. Pain was fleeting, right? In this case, it was a form of power, she found. She would use it to help with adrenaline. No, this wound just made things more interesting to deal with, nothing more.

Through the strobe light that was causing matters to be so difficult, she noted her Master's ascent up the angelic statue and her smirk widened. This situation was proving to be even more entertaining by the minute. Closing her eyes as to not allow the migraine inducing flares to bother her near as much, Cassandra took note of the ways the statue was moving and dug deep into her soul to pull forth the elegance and grace that she kept for herself. It was a hobby to dance, but now it was something that could potentially aid her in keeping her footing and head upon her shoulders.

A spin and a roll to one side allowed for her to nimbly dodge the other arm from slamming her to the ground, instead a furrow was made that she reversed her momentum to briefly duck into. When she heard the cry from her friend atop the automaton, Cassandra refused to hesitate and rather than sheltering herself, matched the beat to channel her frost directly into the incoming blast of radiance from Raferties.

That was that. With an explosion to add to the rubble within the room, the faux angel was no more and Cassandra was left to rush to Scarheart's fallen side, making sure he was alright. Elsharaz popped his head up from behind a broken piece of a chair that he was using as "tactical positioning" and padded up behind her, whining softly, but refusing to add even more musical tone to the scenario at hand.

"Without your help, we would not have found aim. Your assistance is none to scoff at, the battle would not have ended the same." She smiled and tipped her head to glance at either passage exiting the chamber. At her eyes even falling upon the spider webbing, a knot rose into her throat. She didn't like spiders very much, but not for a similar reasoning that others had.

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Cassandra appeared upon a hill, summoned by her Master, General Nerthuul. Behind her, hiding on the other side of the aforementioned mound, she counted out a good hundred militants. The General glanced her over with a wry smile. For him, she always appeared with blonde hair and more of the pale complexion. She thought that it seemed similar to his daughter, but she was definitely not one to outwardly psychoanalyze her Masters. That was one of the unspoken rules of being a Djinn. Well, all the rules were unspoken, but that's not the point.

He nodded towards the trees that were, due to height, nearly on level with the two. He was always the conquering sort. "They will assault up this hill and you will hold them back. We will move around to flank for the attack." (Even her memories happened to be in song... great.)

Cassandra's stomach bottomed out. She loathed when warlords had their hands on her flask, but that was another matter she could not vocalize.

DONG!

The Djinn jerked and gazed down towards the base of the hill, a blackened mass beginning to form on the edge of the trees, the darkened shapes moving constantly and giving way to a mist rolling out. The sound, a war drum of sorts, had risen from the still darkening forest, a shudder racing down the Djinn's spine. It was almost like a gong or bell that rang out. She frowned. "Who is it we fight? What is our right? Is this land yours or soon to be claimed? Should I kill or leave them maimed?"

The General ran a thumb over the flask, sending a pulse of magic through her. A warning.

"Just do as I say, slaughter the creatures and end the day."

Cassandra nodded as the General retreated to his army as she glanced up to the dusky clouds. Today was a horrible day to be pulled out.

The creatures that came.. she recognized their race. A blend of spider and man. They crawled over the earth like an infestation, a sight that sent fear even through Cassandra. Seeing something like this made her feel mortality, even though she didn't have it in the first place.

The beasts lunged into battle that they had no idea that they would lose, their blood spilling across the ground to form a palette of crimson and black. With every swing of their blades, Cassandra darted to one side and cause them to regret their decision in the first place, frost licking at their multiple limbs and cracking their carapaces. Distracting them for the real threat. This was probably their home they were defending. She didn't know why the General wanted it, but he did... and she had to eliminate the 'threat' he deemed to be exterminated.

Suffice it to say... Cassandra no longer liked seeing spiders.


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Cassandra had no objections to their choice of direction, just patting her Hellhound and nodding. She continued to hear that echoing music that now was beginning to course through her veins. It had a faint bit of an appeal to it; she figured that she would miss this after it was gone, but then again, she could say that now after it had only been perhaps half an hour of song and tone.

As they progressed down the smooth passage, she could sense the dread as well. It was a familiar sensation of unease, but she tried to push it aside, even with Scarheart not helping with his description of impending death in the next chamber. Cassandra sighed melodically, and continued to follow the angel before her. And then she saw it.

The dead. The music. It was almost all too much to bear.. Cassandra laughed.

It was soft, not enough to interrupt the accompaniment that rose from the procession further in the room, but she couldn't help it! This was the most wonderful wish gone awry that she had seen. Granted, it was bad to see so many undead and she honestly had never really faced even one undead in her past. (That's a long time to have never seen undead... that she remembered, at least. Djinn don't have perfect memories.)

Cassandra did find herself taken slightly aback by the rhymes of the Lich (not that she knew what it was), but that now familiar smile crept up on her. Before either of her companions could utter a word, she sprang into the fray of the matter and spun, dropping to a knee as shadow and frost surrounded her ominously, Elsharaz (grumbling at first) aided her in her own instrumental accompaniment, though more in the form of a low and steady growl, that soft bell adding an additional bit of rhythm for her following notes.

"If you think you've won, you're sorely at a loss. You're one single skeleton who's hat will have to toss. So you have one simple army? What's that going to do? You'll find yourself running and wishing you had two. Our music is going to beat you and your chords we will destroy; by the end of this you'll fail, no matter the efforts you employ."

She grinned, wickedly and rose from her knee, gesturing over her shoulder to cause a flare of her own light magic to radiate around the angel. "You see, an angel at our backs, he'll burn your band to ash, a strand of sinew left and not a single one to bash. He is the light of this celebration and he brings his God to reign. If you knew any better," she glanced over the band at the Lich's side. "-you'll leave before the pain."

With that, Cassandra switched her hand to the opposite side, illuminating Scarheart instead. "This man to my side? You wonder what to fear. You'll get no reprieve from his blows and lose all that you hold dear. His eyes are of little consequence, you see. Instead he knows just where you stand or where you're going to be."

Frost flared around her, encircling her feet and exploding in all directions with a sharp blast. "Then you have me, a Djinn of rhyming force. No amount of hexing will ever make its course. I'm the supreme between us two, you're just a conductor of a band. Your voice is cracking up like it's old and filled with sand. The age is getting to you, but with me it magnifies. My magic will overwhelm you and make you feel alive."

"You really stand no chance against our rightful lot. With the two of them and myself, we will gain what we have sought. Now step aside and listen to the music they increase. Afterwards you'll back away and be forced to rest in peace."

_________________________________________________________________________________

For Whom the Bell Tolls is my Music Challenge Song.

Word Challenge :: "Palette", "Smooth", and "Level" (Art in the Park / To the Touch / Game On!)

1532 words
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Lorekeeper
[ *  *  * ]
As the statue fell, Raferties felt a great sense of accomplishment, which was compounded by gratitude as his eyesight returned and he stopped his song. There was little point to now, as their enemy was defeated and the music that permeated the place had changed.

"Magic may have been needed, this is true, but as Cassandra said the key information was provided by you," the Lorekeeper said to Scarheart as he and Cassandra went to his side. With a small murmured prayer a faint wave of healing washed over them all, mending minor wounds and easing the ache of bruises and scrapes. For a moment he paused when they did, looking around to note the be-webbed passageway and the constellations overhead. Was that a view of the Teragaian sky, or was it somewhere else? He couldn't really tell.

At Scarheart's words of undead, the angel nodded his understanding and took the lead.

"Were that my brother were here, he would give any undead something to fear. But though my strength may make you long for something more, I suppose you can make do with a Keeper of Lore." He smiled as he sang the lines, admitting his less-than-ideal combat prowess in a way to show that he was not trying to discredit himself.

Scarheart had a valid point, after all - angels, no matter what their caliber or roles, were potent against the walking dead.

Progressing down the stairs was a trial in and of itself. Raferties had never before faced a horde of the walking dead, though he could recall to mind literally thousands of angelic accounts of battles with such, from ghouls and ghasts to zombies. The return of the darkness didn't help matters much; despite his lighting the tip of his staff in holy flame and pushing his Radiance to the extreme, the pitch black encased it all, leaving him using the end of the staff to tap and feel for the next step.

He'd just taken the last step, when Scarheart spoke, and the chamber erupted into the bright flames that made Raferties take a half-step back and throw up an arm to shield his eyes. And what he saw - and heard - was something he could barely believe.

It took him a bit to realize that he was staring down a lich, one of the most feared of the undead kind. And, of all things, it was singing? The angel shivered as their apparent foe got in the lyrical first word, trying to consume them with fear.

Then Cassandra acted! Raferties was taken aback by her sudden movement and her dramatic gestures. But at her words he began to smile, and at her introduction flared his wings out wide.

Perhaps he wasn't a vain angel, but he did know how to make an impression.

When she had finished her verse, he took a single step forward, but it was really a leap to bring him up into the air, wings beating steadily. The light the djinn had put on him remained, illuminating him even more than his Radiance did and emphasizing his angelic nature.

Although the skeletons kept playing their heavy, jarring music, when Raferties opened his mouth for his refrain his voice was smooth, melodic; a direct counterpart to theirs and contrasting with it in every way, loud enough that it could be heard over their playing.

"Do not look and think I am an angel weak-formed, for I am Solaris' Guardian Firstborn. Of the sun he is master and lord, and to his servants his power he does afford." Raferties slashed his staff through the air, leaving golden flames in its wake. "You do not belong here, this is no longer your home, for you are naught but dust and bones. There is nothing here for you, despite what you crave, so I command you go back to your grave!" On 'grave' he dove down to land in the middle of the space between the heroes and the unholy band, flicks of holy flame kicking out and disintegrating the closest few skeletons. Clerics of Solaris were known in their home realm for being particularly potent against such foes; how much stronger was one of his angels?

Standing up from the impact, wings flaring out and staff held before him, pointing right at the lich, he finished his verse.

"And worse for you, your ultimate death is at hand, for all matter of knowledge is at my command. I know what you are, dreaded lich of ancient times, and I know what is said of your kind in holy rhymes. You phylactery will not save you from our mighty power, your final death will come this hour. So no matter what you say or how you may try, we will not be the ones to die."

((The Undiscovered - Inspiration for this segment. Word Count - 808 ; At the Zoo - Keeper, To the Touch - smooth))
Note: Until further stated, Scarheart, Belial, and Cassandra have standing permission to powerplay Raferties or Anari.
Raferties and his Shinies ~~Anari and her Shinies~~ Keldos and his Shinies~~Cobalt and her Shinies~~Taki and her Shinies~~Kemori and his Shinies
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"Want to know how to kill a Demon with a Bootknife?" Shianara asked me nonchalantly while she played with her own knife, making small, cone-shaped holes in the inn table. I couldn't help but encourage her to expound. "You cut off his horn and stab him in the heart with it. Demons kill each other all the time." That thought had honestly never occurred to me until that very moment. She was brilliant and well worth the bottle of wine, 20 sovereign gambling loss, and a night in bed to be her acquaintance. "Thanks, Shianara; another Demon down." That's what I say after every Demon I've ever successfully killed. - Hren "Scarheart" Ildarys

Hren felt the power behind their words, the magic flowing throughout the room helping to vanquish the feeling of darkness all around him that went far beyond simply not being able to see. The music weakened and the Lich glared in fury, a sense that even the blind hunter could identify through the tension in the air, thickening enough to deaden the music. Hren wasn't about to turn over the fight just yet, however.

Lich, you're already dead, killed at least once before, though you did it by yourself, and stuck a jar up on a shelf, you're just the wizard's version of a two-bit whore. And Me? I've lived as long as you, perhaps even longer, and every time I would've died, it's just made me that much stronger.

Serosa couldn't help but get involved and let that fire crackle like an eerie bass, as she let those white hot fires roar, and flew right up to his skeletal face. The brave inside of her flourished, her tiny scraps of inner courage, burst to the orange and reddened surface, and she knew Hren's need of her lyrical purpose.

Fiend! Disgrace! You give discredit to the undead Race! I've seen ogre zombies moan about, that's better than your tone-deaf shouts! Perhaps without you leading the way, your skeletal band might have won the fray. Now its time to for you say good-bye, and for the second time - just Die!

Hren paused, the beat pulsing around him as he couldn't help but turn his head to look upon Serosa who had just, pardon the pun, 'burned' the Lich where he stood. As the beautiful phoenix returned to her post at Hren’s side, he finished the lyrical onslaught.

So you see, though I don't, that we win, and you won't, cling to that power that you don't even own. That’s it, we’re through, now back to you, show me what a one-manned, no-talent band can do.

The lich recoiled from the powerful verse, the words and rhythms like daggers of harmonic destruction ricocheting from the walls and straight through his heart. Staggered steps sent him stumbling away from Serosa and the crew of powerful vocalists while the remnants of his band of undead fodder fell to the ground in heaps of humbled bone and fetid flesh.

I see now I chose the wrong prey, you're clearly masters of the Lyrical Way
There's just one last thing that I must say... You'll never again see the light of day!

Dark magic swept from the flowing, dilapidated robes of the ancient dead wizard as the stairwell behind us began to collapse, shuddering to the foundation as the ancient stone crumbled in upon itself. Hren, Cassandra, and Raferties were pelted by small debris but miraculously managed to dive forward, Serosa leading the way, to find a small bit of the room that was stable despite the collapse. Smoke rolled around them as everything went dark yet again.

Cassandra whispered to the elements again to summon forth a crystalline lamp of light which illuminated the small passage in which they had managed to survive. However, now they were beneath rubble and rock with no way out in sight. Dust was still settling, filling their lungs with not only the stale taste of dirt, but the foul scent of the undead that had been laid to waste here.

That cowardly lich, that Godless witch, buried us here in this mountainous ditch. A loose stone here, upturned rock over there, dangerous walls everywhere. One wrong move, our fate we seal, do not go jostling the debris with zeal. No, we must think carefully, avoid our death, before we four run out of breath...

Hren sat in the middle of the chamber they'd been trapped within, gently slowing his breath and heart rate to use less of their precious oxygen. Cassandra and Raferties carefully examined the walls, looking for signs of light making it through weaker or thinner sections of wall, and carefully began to formulate how they would escape their merciless entrapment. This was especially rough on Raferties, whose flighted nature made such confinement unbearable.

Cassandra wasn't feeling too much happier; she had spent centuries trapped inside of a simple metal flask. Her newfound freedom was quickly stolen out from under her, despite Hren's desire to leave her free and never take advantage of her mystical summoning accoutrement. While the blind hunter calmed himself and examined the situation from a completely different angle, they searched in every way and location they could imagine in that narrow 20 foot space. Time was slowly running out.

Meanwhile, Hren's mind was once again drifting to another place and time. The silver mine had collapsed almost a week ago in the trade town of Xardeth. He had just come into town to witness an honorary funeral for those who could not be found in its collapse. It wasn't difficult at all to question around the town and discover the truth of the unfortunate events taking place that day. An earthquake had collapsed a lower shaft, which sent a chain reaction throughout the entire mine - dust had lingered in the air for three days afterward. Only ten survivors - 40 lost workers, including some boys not even old enough for facial hair.

~Its a good thing I don't have pesky eyes to get in the way of finding survivors in a collapse~

Hren skipped the more ceremonial nature of the funeral and simply made his way along the north edge of town and climbed the small foothills into the rocky basin just below on the other side. Countless tunnels used to be dug into the side of the cliffs here, as made obvious by the now ransacked wooden walkways that connected them. Now, however, rocky debris filled them completely - there was no easy entrance except a simple tunnel at the very top where they had rescued what few they could. It didn't even go 20 feet in and 10 feet deep.

Cautiously, he made his way down the treacherous winding path to the deathtrap that used to be a mine entrance. For several long moments, using the sound of the howling wind from below and the smell of tale air inside, he ran his hands along the stone feeling for gaps. When he found a particularly dense and well-connected cluster of boulders, he pressed his whole body against it, knowing the vibrations from within would carry a lot stronger with the more solid stone.

He felt movement, not too far away from where he stood. How long had that person been trapped now, five days? No food, limited air and water... a miracle if it was a miner at all and not some burrowing creature. Regardless, Hren took to work moving the stone nearby so that he could get some sort of passage without collapsing the rest of the area.

Finally, an opening presented itself and the daring wanderer crawled his way through the narrow corridor and fell into a slightly deeper chamber on the other side where, a 14 year old boy sat. A man was dead beside him, his head bashed in with a rock - repeatedly. An empty water wkin lay with the man, and the boy clung to the last few droplets in a second skin.

"I didn't mean to, I didn't - I didn't want to kill him - he tried to take my water!" The boy came toward Hren zealously, seeming to the common ear like a truly repentant child. Of course, the blind one wasn't the common man, with the common ear. The tiger revealed its stripes, however - Hren had heard the rock digging into the knuckles behind the kid's back as he brought it forward to try and deck Hren to take -his- water too. This kid had known only survival for such a short time, and had already become an animal. The human can do quite a lot to survive, against all disgust and civilization.

It was an easy chore for Scarheart to dispose of the child's weapon, slinging him against the wall, pinning him safely with the forearm. "Idiot boy, wake up - you've been rescued. You don't need to kill to survive any longer." Hren knew, a day longer, and that boy would likely be eating things he truly did not wish to. He also knew, the boy would never be the same - he would forever be a hunter and a killer.


Hren came barreling back to reality as he took to his feet silently, and, without saying a word walked right over to a pile of stone tiles that had come down from the ceiling, making a mix and match wall of rock, dirt, and marble. Without hesitation, he kicked hard at the base of the tower monument of imprisonment and sent it shattering hard away from them, more dust kicking into the air. Beyond it, a secret passage in the ground had collapsed seemingly centuries ago leaving in its wake, a veritable obstacle course overlooking a pit so deep, Hren thought he could hear the echoing of hell from the bottom.

"There you have it, our escape at long last, we should thank our castle's host, for my trip into the past." ♫ Hren led the way, crawling along narrow stone bridges, jumping from pedestal to platform, and even having to climb along tall ivy walls to overhang above, the entire course leading its way every upward. Cassandra and Raferties would have to find a similar route along the collapsing, ancient passageways, and overcome these difficulties in their own fashion.

"Miraculously, we're all alive, despite the Lich's best tries. We shouldn't tarry here any longer, and let this whole mess simply make us stronger."
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Song: Broken, Beat, and Scarred
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(To The Touch, At the Zoo Challenges: Rough, Stripes, 1755 Words)
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The words were perfect, the music impeccable, and their victory was nonnegotiable. The lich was destined to lose from the start of the entire endeavor, much to Cassandra's arrogance that had flared to life at the competition. Granted, it didn't seem like it was a simple friendly prodding, but there was no reason that she had to take the undead friend seriously.

Unfortunately, the enthusiasm of the win was short-lived as the lich triggered one of Cassandra's worst fears. The rumble. The shudder. The darkness. A scream would have came out of the Djinn if she hadn't been so startled by the collapse, ducking low out of more of an instinct than anything, though her magic was also a bit of assistance as she used it to cause fragments of stone to vanish before they would otherwise hit their marks. Who knew where the pieces of rubble actually went.. Cassandra wasn't too worried about that at the moment.

As the debris settled, she conjured a bit of light to help with her frazzled nerves, although it was not one hundred percent effective. It was still a tight space, darkness wrapping around her, and if there was one place she did not want to be right now, it was in a location that reminded her of being encased in her flask. Cassandra shuddered, closing her eyes and forcing her mind away from the fear that was wrapping around her body like a blanket, all encompassing and choking.

Her thoughts did wander, and since she was attempting to strain away from the fear, she instead found herself reminded of the last time she was in the dark. The Hunt.

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The wish had been simple. The man wanted his brother to be 'scared straight' of his thieving ways. Cassandra tried to warn him, but no one really ever listened to a Djinn; they are just a servant, after all, right? Cassandra's body shifted to that of fear, or at least what she would imagine one who would be afraid of death itself would see. The reaper, Death, what have you for a name associated, but that is what visage she acquired. She would have loved for the wish to have been simple and just what the man desired. A scare. However, that is not what happened to his brother.

No, Cassandra chased him. She had spent the entire day following him in the shadows, granting him a glimpse here and there of what he thought was a stalker, making him paranoid. Then another day. And another. He locked himself in his basement, unwilling to breech the surface out of fear that something was after him... and Cassandra was.

On the fourth day, she wove magic to slip into his dreams, giving him doubt of his own reality, lacing his thoughts with utter fear. When he opened his eyes, he truthfully didn't know what was daytime and what was still the horror that had been racing through his sleep. Memories and delusions became one and he was terrified. As soon as he saw the Djinn, that was all that was needed to trigger his insanity. The brother lunged to his feet and bolted, screaming. Every face he saw on the street was a killer, every child a demon to devour what little soul he had left, the hounds were Hell's own to collect the sinner.

Cassandra returned to her flask only to be summoned several hours afterwards, her Master enraged. His brother had been found, having returned to his basement to curl in absolute horror. He had locked the door, thrown shelving in the way, and had found the tightest location that would keep him away from Death. That happened to be his boiler. Cassandra's master was infuriated, telling her to bring him back. Ordering... wishing... to bring him back.

People never learn.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cassandra raised an eyebrow as she watched Scarheart kick at the stone, a wave of additional fear pulsing through her as she was about to stop him. "What are you doing, it will collapse... are you sure that's right-" The wall crumbled to reveal an escape. "Hey look, a pass!"

She grinned and lunged forward, the need to survive sending her to her feet and through the opening. As she watched Scarheart leap across the obstacles, Cassandra could feel the sweat that had unknowingly been running down the back of her neck and solidifying (her Djinn frost making that a wonderful sensation)... and she could feel it melting. With Raferties' attention forward, analyzing Scarheart's steps and probably considering simply flying across, the Djinn slowly edged closer to the pit and glanced down hesitantly.

A rumble shuddered through the stone around them and Cassandra bit her lip, eyes locked on the emptiness below. "Something shakes and something quakes, I find I have to hesitate to cross the path that Scarheart makes." Another jarring rumble that made her have to place a hand on the wall to her side and the Djinn noticed finally the darkness seem to shift in the depths of the pit. Cassandra glanced to Raferties and tipped her head. "Then again, perhaps it is more danger to stay behind, last one across, the enemy will find!" Attempting to place a little levity into the situation, Cassandra bolted forth onto the first pillar of stone, then the next, grabbing one of the vines to swing a short distance across. No, it wasn't the path that Scarheart had taken, but this one was a little more accessible to Elsharaz, who directly mimicked her movements.

Suddenly from below, a hissing noise rose to climax, steam bursting forth and causing her to redirect her path to a different ledge than she had intended. Elsharaz was separated briefly, but joined her a moment behind. Beneath, whatever beast was in wait was rising. Or beasts.

A growl resonated around them all, even to Scarheart's ears from the front of the proverbial pack. The growl multiplied and all that were present become quickly aware that the threat from below was not a singular beast.. but a nest of then.

Scrambling over one another, lizard-like cretins rose from the shadows, digging their bone-sharpened claws into the crevices of the walls and rapidly making their way up to the top of the chasm. Their faces were elongated and narrow, eyes of a predator to either side of the head and vertical pupils that reflected off of Cassandra's faint light, showing an eerie amber glow that indicated they were not hindered by the lowered illumination. They thrived in this darkness. Their minute scales were more like a gilla monster's, an odd patterning of purple and yellow striping that wrapped around each of their bodies like clothing. A set of odd spots lined ridges on and under their eyes, making their faces seem even more streamlined than they already seemed. Their tails were long and thin, allowing them to use them as well as a monkey their tail, and their muscles were obviously skilled with jumping, climbing, and other such feats of athleticism.

It wasn't long before several of them lunged over the sides, their three rows of teeth gnashing and snapping in the direction of the fresh meat laid out before them. Three landed before Raferties, fanning out to spread themselves among the obstacles to add their own to the mix. One of them was slightly larger than the others, its bulk more intense and intimidating, a faint reddish saliva dripping out of its maw. Its eyes narrowed on its prey as Raferties' scent reached its flared nostrils and it locked onto what its meal would be for the night. Perfect.

Five more lithe lizards darted onto the ledge Scarheart perched, their bodies obviously more dexterous than fit and their claws more prominent of a weapon as opposed to their teeth. Wicked grins were pronounced on their mugs as it was also apparent that they may have had a little more intelligence than the others.. perhaps they were more the sadistic types.

One slid to either side of Cassandra's safe haven, Elsharaz growling and edging a little closer to her before leaping to snap at one of their legs, the beast recoiling with a ferocious hiss of annoyance. As Elsharaz tried to fend off that one, Cassandra snapped her hand out to force back the other a step, the rock crumbling under its feet with such a simple gesture.

Taking the opportunity, Cassandra snatched up her companion and darted to another, slightly higher, bit of rock and spun on her heel. A snap of her fingers froze over the ledge. The creatures seemed to snicker... of course, she missed. As they attempted to follow suit, jumping from the abandoned ledge, their claws had no capability of achieving traction and slipped beneath their larger bodies. Even though it was a victory, their bodies returning from whence they came, it was brief. Cassandra could hear more. She paled a bit, her eyes darting to her friends. They had become prey.. being hunted by these creatures of the pit.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Music Challenge :: All Nightmare Long
((OOC:: Word Challenge => "Win" Game On!)) Word Counts :: 1507
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Raferties
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Raferties had been pleasantly shocked and relieved that they had been able to drive back the lich. While his words had been brave and his actions bold, the angel truly didn't know if he could dismiss all the lich's minions: there were a lot of them, and he knew of other Guardians who were stronger than he was when it came to the undead. But it seems their words alone, and the power of their conviction, were enough as the skeletal band crumbled.

Then the lich played his final hand, and literally brought the house down upon them!

When the shaking and collapsing stopped, Raferties found himself on his knees on the coarse stone, curled with his wings pressed tight to his back, shaking and panting for dust-choked air that immediately set him coughing in the darkness. For a moment, with his ears deafened by the sound of breaking and shattering stone he couldn't hear anything, and his heart jumped in fear. Then with a slowness that made his mind lunge to grab at it, noise returned in the form of the others coughing and shifting nearby to him.

♫ You'll never again see the light of day! ♫

For the briefest of moments, the angel's heart tightened in real fear, even as he sensed Belial mentally calling to him (mentally, and lyrically, he noted) as he could sense the angel was in danger and a little hurt. But his voice let Raferties shake his worry: his role in this quest couldn't end here! He had too much at stake, lover and daughter and friends, to let that happen.

He slowly stood after reassuring Belial and took a look around as Cassandra's light illuminated everything. At the sung words of warning he nodded, gently examining the walls and floor and finding... nothing. He just barely kept his wings from beating in frustration, the confinement blending with his want to safely return to his loved ones blending with the faint hinting fear that he would perish away from his beloved sunlight... He shook his head hard to knock the thought away.

Then Hren moved, going to a section of wall and rather brazenly kicking it in, revealing their escape route! Were it not for the dust in the air Raferties would have cheered.

♫"A trip to the past? So a vision you have had? Well, it matters little I suppose - for a real escape I am glad! Let us make haste, before worse befalls as we trek through these clearly cursed halls." ♫

The Lorekeeper watched Scarheart as he traversed the platforms, bridges, and other obstacles in his way, then began judging whether he could (or should) simply fly... when Cassandra drew his attention down the pit. As she began to make her way across, Raferties actually stood his ground. He had wings, he could simply fly across, in addition to his Radiance that he wrapped himself in to help light his way as Cassandra took her light with her. He would draw the attention of their unknown foe, then simply take off into the air and cross once the others were safely on the other side.

Well, that had been his plan.

As the lizard creatures clambered up the sides and threatened them, Raferties found he faced three, one likely the leader of the bunch by his enhanced size and the fact that of them all only he alone seemed possessed of a venom of some sort. Three threatening him, five threatening Scarheart, and two threatened Cassandra... he hoped they could manage their odds until he was free to assist, especially Scarheart. While he didn't doubt the blind man's skills, one single errant step could sent him plummeting!

♫ No matter their skill, ♫ Raferties thought to himself, ♫ I must act quick, before these beasts go for the kill! ♫ So even as Cassandra sent her pair back to whence they came, Raferties was moving as well, staff snapping into his hands and body dropping into one of the combat positions that both Belial and Keldos had trained him in so many times now. As the first one of the normal lizards lunged, Raferties spun, wings flaring slightly for balance as the head of his staff caught the lizard full on and knocked it back down the pit. The second darted forward almost at the same time, but a quick jump back took Raferties away from harm (though also away from his companions). As the leader pressed forward as well, it became clearer that they were trying to separate him out from the others. Well, the angel wasn't about to let that happen, and this time he had a trick to play that worked so well once before. Surely it would help again.

Taking a breath, the angel began to sing once more, lifting his voice to reach the others and giving him a beat. Sure enough, the two lizards' movements began to match the rhythm, and as they were reacting to the melody, rather than knowing it intimately as Raferties did, they couldn't predict the notes or beat quickly enough. Soon the second was flung over the side, leaving just the Lorekeeper and his sole foe... but now Raferties found he was in trouble - his song was over! If he repeated it, surely the leader would be more adept this time around. But did he dare switch songs, which might throw off the others? Cassandra wasn't yet re-threatened, but Scarheart was still, and more creatures were scurrying up towards them both.

He kept going, repeating the verses and chorus.

As he'd feared, the lead lizard was more able to avoid him this time, jumping over his staff and even lashing out, biting and scratching at the angel. At one point he managed to actually get a few of the lower flight feathers in his mouth and tear them away, making Raferties cry out and for a brief time his song faltered. He had to do something, and fast!

Pressing out more notes and words through a tired throat, Raferties focused even though the pain of his healing nicks and cuts and scratches to wait, timing it until the leader lunged, this time seemingly for his throat as it sensed a weakness in its prey - then the staff flashed, there was a reptilian squeal, and the thing fell back, an open gash across its chest and blood staining the head of Raferties' staff where the sun decoration rested, part of the crest crimson.

♫ "I do not wish to kill, but nor will I be slain. Of freedom I have much to lose and more to gain." ♫ His voice was low and threatening, even as he edged a step back, resettling his stance. ♫ "Leave now, and I will not end your life this day. Now go! Begone! Away!" ♫ Whether or not his lyrical words intimidated the creature, or whether it just decided that the angel wasn't worth this much pain, Raferties didn't know but was relieved to see it turn and retreat. After a moment to catch his breath, the angel spread aching wings - thankfully he hadn't lost too many feathers to the dust they became - and took to the air, winging his way closer and calling upon what healing magic he had to wrap Scarheart in a glowing aura of continual healing. It was honestly the strongest healing magic he had, and it had saved the day before. He just hoped it would be enough.

((1248 words, To the Touch - Coarse, Game On - Adventure. Inspiration: Fox Amoore's We Will Rise))
Note: Until further stated, Scarheart, Belial, and Cassandra have standing permission to powerplay Raferties or Anari.
Raferties and his Shinies ~~Anari and her Shinies~~ Keldos and his Shinies~~Cobalt and her Shinies~~Taki and her Shinies~~Kemori and his Shinies
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"What do you mean Scarheart's gone rogue?" The man asked incredulously just feet from where I remained hidden amongst the empty crates in the side alley of his shoppe. "I'm telling you, Galfin, the Queen's put a bounty on 'is 'ead! Scarheart done made 'is way into-da castle and killed the eldes' prince! He's worf eight-hunnerd sovereigns!" The second man was holding a wanted poster - I could tell by the cheap paper and smell of fresh ink soaking through it. "I just can't believe it, Daja. The prince is only -alive- because of Scarheart! Why would he kill him? It don't make no sense!"

I couldn't help but cringe inside - just across the street, three of the Queen's dark-cloaks were in disguise, listening to the conversation at a known hangout of mine. When Galfin even mentioned that it could be false, that was practically treason in Jorrus-gardt. He had just implied that the Queen was lying about who killed her son. He had just sentenced himself to an execution, for simply believing that me, their local hero Scarheart, couldn't have killed the prince.

In truth, I did kill him. He was beginning to be a lot like his mother - cruel, manipulative, vulgar, disgusting, and just plain wrong to rule a country. His younger sister D'Ari, however, was shaping up to be far superior at leading her people. A great conspiracy had been brewing to have D'Ari slain and using the weaponry of their rival, Gradhal to start a war. I had caught wind of this conspiracy, and despite being retired after 20 years of service to her majesty, I had to do something - the prince's death was the only means. Only two children would leave the Queen with no choice but to put her daughter into power if her son was slain.

Of course, this backfired when the guards were ordered to shoot both myself and the princess. She was only 10 years old and didn't even have a clue why her own mother would want her dead, so imagine her confusion when I was trying to help her escape her own castle. While we did barely escape, it wasn't clean - she took a couple of serious falls with all the running, and I had a bolt sticking from the back of my right shoulder. It pierced not only flesh and muscle, but bone, and I was not doing too well.

When we took to the streets, using the lingering shadows of twilight to see yet hide, she all but had to lead the way, once she truly got hold of her emotions. We found our way out of the city proper and into the slums. My cloak did well to hide who she was, while we both shivered from the early-onset winter chill. We finally took shelter in an abandoned warehouse that really, wasn't even good enough to be used by the homeless in the area.

Then, it all happened. That's when I realized who the true hero of the story was. That sweet little girl, once we had made our makeshift camp, broke the shaft of the arrow clean out of my shoulder with strength I really didn't expect her to have, then laid her hands upon the wound. A brilliant golden light surrounded her like the warmth I had seen surround the Celestial champions a dozen times. Her words were not her own, but rather something far more beautiful than I could truly understand. Then the light and warmth entered me, and I was unconscious.

I awoke the next morning to D'ari already being awake. She explained to me that her place was with her people, even if it meant having to fear for her life. She explained that I was too recognizable and wouldn't be able to help her anymore. She explained that her people had to be freed, and if I wanted to help, all I truly had to do was believe in the stars. Each night, she said, more stars will disappear forever. That didn't mean they were dead, simply that they had become something different. She just needed to become something different, and she wanted me to do the same. It was time.

The last I heard, D'ari was the Queen, her people free, but after a long, brutal, bloody war. Thousands lost, but even the soldiers of the opposing side were given honorable graves. Yeah, D'ari would be okay for a long while to come. She had changed from a star, to something I can't yet describe. I wonder what I will become, or if I ever was a star?
- Hren "Scarheart" Ildarys

~Lizards? Seriously?~ Hren stopped his movements immediately as the five ugly buggers decided to pay him a visit. He held his breath, he perked his ears, and he listened intently for every clue he could discover in a short time, while they poised for clawed strikes.

~Subterranean. Agile. Long Claws. Low Bodies.~ He nodded in finality, especially after hearing their stretching flesh and short, anxious breaths. As his motions stilled, he began to lift the weight off of one of his feet balancing delicately on the other, while his hands fanned out wide to either side without so much as letting his hair shift.

Likely, they were smelling the perspiration, seeing the heat, or feeling the vibrations. He had to account for all three and become invisible to their eyes, since they had him at such an ambushed disadvantage. With a thought to Serosa, she quickly obliged, and dashed across the ravine and along-side Hren, letting her own fire slowly build as she darted back and forth, up and down, and made a pattern of flame-streaks wrap around her Champion. The lizards did their best to keep up, their heads tracking back and forth to follow, but there was a sudden flare of her magic that sent raw flame wrapping around the pedestal of stone. That was it - the lizards were blinded!

The Blind Woodsman then dropped down to the side of the stone, hanging on with a single hand, while the other drew forth a curving dagger given to him long ago by some Plainsmen. Putting the blade into his mouth, he continued to hang on with both hands to rest his arms. Meanwhile, the new foes jerked backwards, two of them falling off the ledge in their eye-pain and stupor. The other three, however, lashed out nastily in Serosa's direction - she had no choice but to retreat.

As the lizards began to sniff the air trying to find their now-lost prey, Hren slowly moved around the side of the rock leaving in his wake bright, vibrant oranges in the infrared spectrum from the weight on his hands. By the time they moved to the first set to sense over, her had maneuvered behind them and jerked up hard with his coiled arm musculature. With a heavy three-point thud onto the ledge, he used his other arm to impale one of the lizards clean in the spine with that curving blade. The other two had their tails pinned beneath his knee.

"Listen you little menaces - I know you're not dumb beasts - Now Scurry. Off with you and your kin, or you'll all end up with broken spines, and that's the least - of your worries"
That would do it, as the two remaining survivors darted off the rock and began to scurry back to the depths below.

Cassandra was now faced with several more, many of them crawling up the jagged rock outcropping she perched upon. They moved with slow, deliberate intention as they circumnavigated the patch of ice and began to enclose her and her canine companion. Just before they could lunge, however, there was a high-pitched chitter back from the depths. The death of the elder, and the firm intimidation implanted by Scarheart, caused the sound of retreat. The small pack growled in annoyance, but obeyed and slowly descended away.

"We're nearly there, the chase giving lift to our feet - only a couple hundred more yards of this obstacle course, and our exit we'll surely meet." Despite the lack of music echoing through the caverns, the sing-song rhyme was still enforced. Hren pressed onward, followed by his companions.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Muscles ached. Hands cramped. Legs spasms were running rampant. Cassandra, likely the least physical of them all, was on her hands and knees by the time Hren helped her up into a cross-section of a hallway. Raferties, though not exactly athletic, had made it as well - body renouncing the strain of physicality audibly with creaks, cracks, and twitches.

"Well, we made it out alive, and if I were to guess, we're two stories up, through castle walls, and its probably best - that we get going. Lingering here in this hall, where collapsed stone nearby did fall, cannot be wise at all - so much damage this castle is showing."

As the trio continued on their way down the one direction the hall allowed, they came upon another sealed doorway. Great green magic flooded all over it. Hren could hear the magic, and Cassandra could practically feel it. Raferties, however, had a distinct advantage - he recognized several of the interlocking symbols rounding the door frame as angelic script - a series of similar lines and circles that was nigh unreadable.

As the three heroes approached, Scarheart taking a knee in the center of the room to gauge its exact dimensions, there was a fluttering of feathered wings from above. First, a giant angel statue tried to slaughter them, then angelic runes - perhaps now an Angelic Archangel was going to burn them all to cinder?

No - instead, as the three looked skyward (even Hren out of habit), they would see a giant lion-like creature with thick, bronze-feathered wings lowering it to land in front of the door. Just before Raferties could read the last bits of script, the wings flared and the vision of the door was cut off by a magnificent Sphinx - unlike any having been seen in teragaia before.

As the mighty beast stood majestically in the way of the heroes, it moved its mouth, but no words came out. Instead, each of our heroes separately heard a voice within their heads:

Cassandra
"Happiness is always the first thing to go, when your life draws to an end. Can you recall whether or not you'd want to do it again? From the beginning? The answer is simple; its all in what you know. I've spelled out for you the answer to a riddle, its as plain as day, let no words escape from your lips, until you say what wins the day."

Raferties
"Hell hath wrath, this holds much truth - however, every enigma involves more hate. Resolve yourself, recover composure, realize rapture arriving promptly - only one word wonders from your mouth, elaborate. In my little rhyme above, you'll find each phrase has something alike, discover it, and tell me your answer, and speak not until you have it right."
_________________________________________________________________________________
Song: Hero of the Day

(Looking to the Stars Challenge: Celestial, 1851 Words)
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Raferties
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Raferties smiles gratefully as he landed on the far side of the break with his companions, pleased with both their well-being and their actions against their scaly opponents. His eyes quickly glanced over the pair, looking for their injuries and grateful that it seemed those they did carry were minor. Above this all, however, was the angel's increased respect for them and their abilities. He had never been one to consider females weaker than males - he had known too many woman warriors, including the fact that half of every rank in Solaris' Chorus were female angels - but watching Cassandra handle herself in the manner she did was noteworthy. Also while he had always believed that those who endured hardships such as Scarheart did were only as crippled as they let themselves be, he was certain that there were sighted warriors who would've balked at taking the risk the man had, on top of wagering that the lizards saw heat or felt vibration. Even Raferties himself hadn't considered such, and he was Solaris' Lorekeeper!

"We all have done well, and I pray you are right, for I would very much enjoy being back beneath the sunlight." Honestly, after all this time the rhyming wasn't bothering the angel much anymore. And the occasional strains of melody that drifted by... made him think of the Chorus, and his original home.

Though Solaris' heaven was certainly not this enemy-prone nor dreary!

Yes, best they leave this place, at once! He just prayed that somewhere along the way they found the solution to the musical riddle that the castle had brought with it.

He could have no idea how ironically phrased his thoughts were.

---------------------------------------

Raferties' walked with teeth clenched against the aches jarring up each leg, down his back, and even across his shoulders and wings! He took only a moment to gather his strength as they paused in the hallway, nodding in agreement to Scarheart's words and following down the available passageway.

What they found at the end of the hallway took him by surprise.

At first upon seeing the green seal over the doorway, he partially raised his staff in defense, only to pause a moment later as a few of the runes flickered across his vision, recognized. But before he even had time to do more than draw in a small, surprised breath, they heard the wingbeats.

Statue - script - all of heaven's form. Is such a theme to be the norm? And if so is my being here purely by chance, or something more than happenstance? A large part of Raferties was thrilled to find out that this was not the case as his eyes caught sight of the winged lion. Now, while Raferties knew a few people who had bonded sphinxes around Haven, he himself had never encountered one close up, and understood that likely this specimen was nothing like the more kindly ones of the weyr. So it was with a bit of caution that he took up a defensive stance, wings spread slightly for both balance and intimidation factor, staff in both hands ready to swing if need be.

Then the creature - for Raferties could not safely say whether it was male or female - spoke in his mind, asking a riddle. Of course, he had heard that they were fond of such... and that the penalty for failure was oftentimes death. Quick wit had his mouth clamping shut when he would have naturally spoke up, inquiring for more information and likely having doomed them all. Thankfully, his eidetic memory was his saving grace here, and he also knew that here he was at his greatest strength, for all that his body felt like he wanted to just collapse where he stood. Riddles were just games with words, and words were what he was created to weave. It only took a few moment's thought for him to raise his gaze again, and as he spoke bold notes rang out behind his words, the kind of melody that stirred the heart and soul to action!

"'Hero' is the answer that you seek!" For the first time since he'd woken (barring a couple of moments here and there) Raferties was not singing, per say. But his spoken words, especially when parred with the music that they seemed to invoke, were of the sort that a general would use to rally his troops, or a priest to awaken the heart of his congregation... or that could cry out over frightened, despairing people, and turn them all into that one, powerful thing: a Hero. "A hero, such as one who refuses to stand safely in the light, but will rush boldly into the darkness to chase out the dangers that lurk there to trounce upon the unwary. Heroes that look tyrants and the wicked in the eye and declare 'I will not let you remain!' Prophets of hope who while even if they are afraid will take to their feet against wicked souls who take what they want, break what good hearts love, and strangle the voices of any who would speak against them as if they rule the world and everyone else means nothing. Heroes... such as the two who stand with me and make me pleased to be in their company, for truly it is ones like they who are the future for any world they reside upon."

The speech left Raferties a little winded, but the words had almost felt drawn out of him. He just hoped they were the right ones, because as weary as he felt, as his friends had looked, he wasn't so sure that a battle with this creature was one they could win.

((Word count - 952. Game On! - Win, Got the riddle, and that gave me the inspiration song for Raf's reply: The Watchdog And Scarheart said that for Raf to 'speak' with the music backing him would count for the musical nature of the adventure.
Note: Until further stated, Scarheart, Belial, and Cassandra have standing permission to powerplay Raferties or Anari.
Raferties and his Shinies ~~Anari and her Shinies~~ Keldos and his Shinies~~Cobalt and her Shinies~~Taki and her Shinies~~Kemori and his Shinies
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